A Hunter's Nightmare
by Muse Decends
Summary: Briar and Dylan are sent out by Bobby to take down a demon that's been killing people in their dreams. Will they be able to get the upper hand? Rated M.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** So, this is an idea that popped into my head after I watched the 2010 remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street. Briar and Dylan are original characters from my story The Beginning of the End, and their personalities are pretty much the same, as well as their relationships with the characters (some of which have yet to be established in BE). So, tell me what you think about it, and I'll think about making more of this, but for now, this is complete...

* * *

Briar rubbed her eye and put her hand back on the steering wheel. She cranked up the stereo, Seether blasting through the speakers and Dylan sat up straight, blinking rapidly. "Whazahell?" Dylan mumbled, still half asleep.

"I need you awake. I'm falling asleep at the wheel, here," Briar said, her voice heavy with exhaustion.

"We can switch if you need to," Dylan suggested, more awake now. Briar shook her head and blinked.

"I can keep going, I just need loud, obnoxious noises, thus waking you up," Briar said. Dylan glared as a slow smirk slipped over her friend's face.

"I hate you, you know that?" Dylan asked. She sat back in her seat and watched the dark road ahead of them. "How far out are we?" she asked. Briar looked down at the GPS she had hooked up to the lighter outlet.

"Just about to hit Ohio," Briar answered. Dylan nodded and leaned her head against the window. Dylan's phone started to ring and she picked it up to answer.

"Hey Bobby. Uh, yeah, we're out that way now. Ohio? You're in luck, we're about to hit the border. Uh, yeah. We'll take it. Well, if you find any more, you know how to contact us. Yeah, thanks," Dylan spoke, obviously holding a conversation, albeit a short one, with Bobby.

"New case?" Briar asked, though she already knew the answer. Dylan nodded and stared down at her lap.

"A gruesome one. Three dead already, Bobby said to hurry," Dylan said. Briar nodded and passed the GPS over to Dylan.

"Tell me where I'm going," Briar said and pressed her foot down on the gas, pushing the car up to speed.

‡

Briar slung her bag up on the bed and zipped it open, moving aside a few articles of clothing to pull out her favorite gun and her laptop. She set both on the table and sat down in one of the chairs. "Shall we get to work?" Briar asked. Dylan nodded and sat down across from her and opened up her own PC. "What do we know?"

Dylan took in a large breath and began, "We know that the series of killings have all happened to people in the same town, on the same street. Bobby could only get the last victim's address, 256 Elm." At this Briar looked up, one eyebrow raised. Dylan continued anyway. "The description he gave me was that supposedly, they were being killed in their sleep," Dylan said. Briar closed her laptop and crossed her arms over it.

"We fighting Freddy Krueger here or what?" Briar asked. Dylan cocked a smirk at this.

"Freddy Krueger isn't real, Bri," Dylan said. Briar tilted her head then motioned for Dylan to continue. "So far, none of the victims have had any link, aside from knowing each other in high school. We need to find the link, find the baddy, and deal with it," Dylan finished. Briar sat back and pulled her laptop into her lap.

"I hope it's the Jackie Earle Haley Freddy," Briar said softly, earning an eye roll from her friend. "I'm just saying that this is all too similar to the movies to be sheer coincidence," Briar commented. She opened her laptop and began typing things in, more than likely hacking into police databases, Dylan thought. The room was silent for a good ten minutes, the only sound the breathing of the girls and the keyboards and mice.

"Found something," Briar said. She looked up and waited for Dylan to join her on her side of the table. "One of the victim's friends said that before she died, her friend was saying something about horrid nightmares that were keeping her awake. She also told police that she had been having the same nightmares and that it had to be connected to her friend's death," Briar explained. Dylan nodded and kneeled on the floor.

"Any idea who the girl is?" Dylan asked. Briar smirked and shut her laptop.

"I say we get some rest before we head out to talk to her. Not likely she's going to be up at this hour," Briar added, folding up a piece of paper and shoving it deep into her pocket. She headed over to her bed and moved her bag before she flopped down onto it. "It's not going to help her if we're all sleep deprived too." Dylan agreed and followed her friend into sleep.

‡

_ Briar found herself in a deserted room, no furniture, no Dylan. She tried to call out for the other girl and found her voice gone. She couldn't make a sound. She looked around her and the scene was changing before her eyes. The white, barren room to a dark, bloodstained hall. In the impossible distance she could see Dylan, her hands nailed to the wall above her head, stretching her arms up above her, tears falling down her face. 'Save me Bri, please, save me,' Dylan's non-moving mouth said. She heard the wails, the crys of pain and...children? Why did she hear children?_

Briar shot up straight and heaved out a sigh. She looked over at Dylan's bed to find the girl missing. "Dylan?" she called out, glad to have her voice. The door handle jiggled and Briar reached for the gun under her pillow. With a click, it was aimed at the door and, as soon as it opened, Dylan. As soon as she saw who it was, she moved the weapon down and clicked on the safety.

"Dude, not cool! Why were you going to shoot me?" Dylan asked. "I brought you your caffeine, too," Dylan added, a twinge of hurt in her voice. Briar wiped a hand over her face and stood up.

"I'm just jumpy, I don't know why. Not to mention I think I just had a nightmare," Briar said, taking a steaming cup from her friend and wrapping an arm over her shoulders. She smiled down at Dylan. "All the talk of nightmares is getting to me, also probably the sleep deprivation from driving all night," Briar added. Dylan nodded and held her own cup up to her lips.

"We should go see that girl today. It's a weekend, she won't be at school," Dylan said, pushing her annoyance aside. She knew Briar would never really hurt her. Briar pulled the paper out of her pocket and tapped it to her forehead before handing it over to Dylan.

"You're driving today," Briar said and grabbed some clothes to change into before heading off to the bathroom. Dylan smirked and grabbed the car keys and her bag, and stood by the door waiting on Briar. "Ready to go," Briar said as she stepped out, her hair slightly wet.

"That was a quick shower," Dylan commented, but turned and walked out the door.

‡

"This is the house," Dylan said, pulling the mustang to a stop and shutting off the engine. Briar exited the car and began the trek up to the front door, Dylan behind her. "What's our excuse?" Dylan asked. "FBI?" she suggested. Briar nodded and rang the door bell. A girl, blonde with hazel eyes opened the door, her composure was timid. Briar looked over at Dylan and motioned for her to step forward and take lead. "Hi, um, my name is Jenna Parker, this is my friend Alice Lane," Dylan introduced. Briar shook hands with the girl after Dylan did, a sweet smile on her face. "We're here to question you about your friend's death," Dylan said, coming out more like a question.

"Brittney, yeah, come in," the girl said. The two followed her into a small living room and sat down opposite her on the couch. "What do you want to know?" she asked when they were all settled.

"Amanda, is it?" Briar asked. The girl nodded. " Can you tell us when you first met Brittney?" she continued. Amanda fidgeted a bit, but seemed to consider her answer.

"The first time I remember her was in high school, and we just, kinda clicked, you know?" Amanda said. Briar smiled at her.

"But?" she urged.

"But I've seen pictures of me and her as girls, playing together," Amanda added. Briar nodded and looked over at Dylan.

"I read on the police report, that you said that Brittney was having serious nightmares before she died, correct?" Dylan asked, Amanda nodded. "Did she tell you what they were about, or who was in them?" Amanda seemed close to tears, but she opened her mouth to answer.

"She saw...a man. Um, he kept repeating to her something like...come...come play with me," Amanda said, her voice cracking. She cleared her throat and tried again. "And she said she heard children playing, laughing...singing this song, I don't know what song it was," Amanda hummed the tune for them. Briar nodded and wrote on a mini pad of paper.

"You also mentioned that you were having the same nightmares?" Dylan pressed, her tone as gentle as it could be. Amanda took in a large breath and nodded her head. "Did you see anything more than Brittney?" Dylan asked. Amanda's eyes went wide and she shook her head, almost as if she were afraid of telling them the truth. Dylan smiled at her and extended her hand. "Thank you for your time, and you have our deepest condolences for your friend," Dylan said. Briar pulled a card out of her pocket, one with her alias and her cell and handed it over to Amanda.

"If you have anything else you would like to tell us, just call this number," Briar said and shook her hand. Amanda thanked them and showed them out. Briar sat in the passenger seat of the mustang and looked over at Dylan. "I wasn't willing to believe this before hand, but this is sounding more like Nightmare on Elm Street to me," Briar said. Dylan rolled her eyes and started the car. Briar was silent most of the drive back to the hotel. "We should go back at night," Briar said. Dylan pulled into a parking space, shut off the car and stared at Briar.

"What makes you so sure we should go back?" Dylan asked. Briar shifted and turned to face Dylan in the seat.

"Even if it's not Freddy Krueger, what ever it is is attacking and killing people while they're asleep, so we go there, watch her while she sleeps," Briar paused and looked out into the distance. "I sound like a creeper. Anyway, we make sure she survives the night, and we get some intel on what's going on in her head. Who knows, maybe she talks in her nightmares," Briar said, shrugging. Dylan sighed and shook her head.

"You're right," Dylan admitted. Briar smirked and got out of the car, pulling the key out of her pocket to unlock the hotel room door. The girls gathered up what they would need and packed up the car. They drove to a convenience store and bought some snacks and a few containers of salt before parking a short ways away to enjoy a lunch made of candy bars and energy drinks. They sat there, watching the house, being discrete about it, talking and joking. When darkness started to fall, Briar's phone rang, an unknown number. She answered anyway.

"Hello?" Briar asked. She smiled and pointed up at the house. "Yeah, I think we can pull that. See you in ten?" she asked when she got her answer, she shut the phone and smirked at Dylan.

"That Amanda?" Dylan asked. Briar nodded and reached into the back seat to pull her bag forward. "So, what? We wait here for ten minutes?" Dylan asked, earning another nod. Briar was quiet as she dug through her bag, a small smile on her face. After a few minutes she grabbed the keys from the ignition and got out of the car, leaving a confused Dylan behind. She popped the trunk and dug through the weaponry, adding a few containers of salt to her bag, along with a flask of holy water and a sawed off shotgun. Dylan finally emerged from the car. "Dude, you gonna tell me what's going through that twisted mind of yours?" she asked.

"Think it's a ghost of some sort. We get the past, we get our bad guy," Briar explained, tossing a few charms into her bag.

"Anything else you'd like to add to that? Like, say, what the hell you're planning?" Dylan asked. She leaned her hip against the car.

"Trap him," Briar said. She shut the trunk and slung the bag over her shoulders. "Amanda'll be expecting us now," Briar added and she headed up to the house. The girls rang the bell and two seconds later, Amanda opened the door and let them in.

"I'm sorry, I just, I didn't know who else to call. You two seemed like you actually believe me and I'm afraid to go to sleep, but I need the rest, so I thought I'd call to see if you two could wake me up should it seem like I'm having one of my nightmares," Amanda rambled. Briar smiled and put a hand on Amanda's shoulder.

"I understand. We'll be here and we'll make sure that you'll stay alive until morning," Briar said. Dylan managed a smile despite her apparent confusion. Amanda led them up to her bedroom and stood awkwardly in the middle of it, watching them inspect the room, or rather, Briar inspect the room.

"Just relax, we can leave the room if that's more comfortable for you," Dylan said, trying to sooth the distraught girl. Amanda shook her head, a tear welling up in her eye. Dylan led her to her bed and pulled the covers up over her. "We'll be here to wake you up," Dylan said. Amanda nodded, looking every bit like a toddler. She curled up on her side and closed her eyes and within seconds, they heard snoring. Briar dug through her bag and handed the flask of holy water to Dylan.

"Wake her with this," Briar said and she left the room, no doubt to snoop for more information. Dylan sighed and sat down in the desk chair. She looked over the items on the desk, just glancing for anything with relevance to the case. She saw a newspaper article, trimmed out and stashed under a notebook. She lifted the cover and looked through the slim stack.

"Quintin Smith? Nancy Holbrook? Obituaries?" Dylan said to herself. She pulled out her phone and took pictures of each, making sure the writing was clear. She replaced them and turned when the door opened and Briar stepped in. "Find anything?" Dylan asked. Briar shook her head, a frown in place. "Look at this," Dylan said, showing Briar the clippings.

"These names sound familiar," Briar said. Amanda shifted on the bed behind them. Dylan looked over Briar's shoulder to check on her. Briar put the articles back after writing the names of each person down. Dylan nudged Briar's arm, getting her to turn and watch Amanda as well. Amanda was tossing and turning, surely nothing of major threat, then she stopped. Her back arched up and her mouth flew open into a silent scream. Briar launched forward and flung salt over the sleeping girl. She called to Dylan who took a few steps up next to the bed and splashed Amanda in the face with holy water. Briar's eyes narrowed when she heard a vague sound, like a man wailing in agony, and the smell of burnt flesh. She saw a thin stream of smoke poor up from the floor, probably where the invisible attacker once stood. Amanda sat up straight then when she realized that she was in her actual room and that Briar and Dylan were both there, she hunched over her drawn up knees and started crying. Dylan sat on the bed beside her and rubbed her back. Amanda looked up at Briar, her eyes puffy and red, little black bags outlining the bottom.

"Freddy, he told me, his name is Freddy," Amanda said and went back to silently sobbing. Dylan whispered something in her ear then stood and led Briar out of the room.

"Sounds too good to be true," Briar said, her tone near emotionless. Dylan knew the comment wasn't meant in fun, if anything it was sarcastic. Dylan narrowed her eyes in thought.

"How do we defeat him, how do we kill him?" Dylan asked, her eyes glued to the floor. She looked up to see Briar watching Amanda through the open doorway.

"We don't, we're not supposed to. He's damn near invincible, but we need to find a way to stop him," Briar said. Dylan could tell that this case was going to get under her friend's skin. She put a hand on Briar's arm to gain her attention back.

"I don't think we'll be able to sleep anymore," Dylan said. Briar looked down at the floor then back up at Dylan.

"We don't know for sure that he's after us yet," Briar said. "But we get through this night, then tomorrow, we have something fresh to look for," she said, trying to keep Dylan's hopes up. Dylan nodded and went back into the room. "I'm gonna get some energy drinks," Briar called before heading downstairs and out to the car. Briar shut the front door behind her and looked around the dark yard. The wind picked up and sent a chill down Briar's spine. Something was off about the night air on this street. She headed down the sidewalk to the parked mustang, holding her arms to herself to protect her from the cold. She heard a twig snap, the sharp sound echoing. She turned and looked, her hand on her gun. A faint sound of laughter swelled from nowhere, circling around her, sending goose bumps up her arms. Briar narrowed her eyes and growled into the dark. She finished her walk to the mustang and something made her sway, her eyes fluttering closed. When she opened them, she saw scratches in the side of the black paint, _you're next._ She shut her eyes again and opened them, the words gone. She shook her head and grabbed the cooler from the back of the mustang and headed back up to the house.

She set the cooler beside Amber's doorway in the dark hall and tiptoed into the room, Amanda asleep once more, tucked under the covers. Briar handed Dylan a can of caffeine and sat down in the chair, turning it to face the foot of the bed where Dylan was. "Anything while I was gone?" Briar asked. Dylan frowned and shook her head. She pointed down at the salt circle she had made on the floor that surrounded the whole bed. Briar noticed now that the headboard was about a foot away from the wall.

"I thought this would help, seeing as it made him flee earlier," Dylan said. Briar nodded, her face grim. "Anything with you? You look kinda startled," Dylan asked, searching Briar's eyes. Briar tilted her head back and looked up at the ceiling.

"No, I didn't see anything out there," she answered. "Or smell or hear," she added. Dylan gave her a weird look.

"I think the salt burned him. Left a faint trace of smoke and scent, not to mention the wailing I heard," Briar said. Dylan raised her eyebrows.

"You got all that?" she asked, almost bewildered. Briar nodded and turned to Amanda who seemed to be sleeping peacefully.

"I was kinda searching for it," Briar said. "Aside from all that, there was no sign of an intruder of any kind," she said. Dylan sighed and gulped down a large portion of her drink. "Getting hard to stay awake?" Briar asked. Dylan nodded and looked out the window. "When we get back to the hotel, you can sleep," Briar soothed. Dylan smiled and took another drink. Briar pulled a little bottle out of her jacket pocket and tossed it at Dylan. "That should help some," Briar said, smirk on her face.

"Five hour energy?" Dylan asked, but she took it anyway.

‡

Briar drove them back to the hotel and when Dylan laid down to sleep, and questioned why Briar was still up, Briar gave her the answer that she just couldn't sleep. Dylan accepted this, mostly because she was too tired to argue and let the dream world over take her. Briar sat up, perched on her bed, her laptop in front of her, her eyes glued to Dylan's sleeping frame. She was watching for any signs of distress on the other girl, hoping against all odds that it wasn't Dylan that Freddy wanted. Through most of the morning, Dylan stayed immobile, set in a deep sleep, and eight hours after she had closed her eyes, the opened. Briar diverted her eyes to her computer and what she had found.

"You didn't sleep at all?" Dylan asked, sitting up with a huge yawn. Briar shook her head, but looked up at Dylan with a tilted smile.

"Guess what I found though," Briar said, she seemed to have a kind of dimmed excitement to her. Dylan sat up and crossed to Briar's bed to look at the other girl's computer.

"Uh, you're on a movie site," Dylan said. She looked up at Briar and put a hand to her forehead. "I think you need to get some rest," she said. Briar shook her head and moved over to the table where she had set up the portable printer they kept with them. She put her laptop down and plugged it in, clicking the movie page open. Briar pulled a thin folder out of her bag and opened it, arranging the pages over her keyboard.

"These names, these _people_, they, all of them, correspond with characters in Freddy Krueger films. These two," she held up Quentin Smith and Nancy Holbrook, "2010 film with Jackie Earle Haley, these," she held up Glen Lantz, Rod Lane and Christina Gray, "1984 with Robert Englund," Briar concluded. Dylan looked down at the mess of papers.

"It's official, you've gone crazy," Dylan said, she gathered the papers up, stuck them back in the folder and shut Briar's laptop with them resting on the keyboard. "Now, you need to care for yourself and go to sleep," Dylan said, pulling Briar up from her seat and pushing her over to the bed. Briar sighed and pulled her gun out of the back of her jeans and stuck it under the pillows. She put her head down and watched Dylan bustle around the room for a bit.

"You heading out?" Briar asked. Dylan turned and looked at her.

"Someone's gotta get the food," she said, smile on her face. Dylan shut the door behind her, the lock clicking into place and Briar sighed, feeling the tension leave her body. She closed her eyes and was out.

_When Briar opened her eyes again, she was in a factory, up on a cat walk surrounded by huge metal pipes. She hear laughter and turned to view behind her. With her back to the hand rails, she watched and waited for the inevitable to show up. 'Want to play a game?' a voice, deep, scratchy and masculine came from around her. Briar smirked._

_ 'Oh, thank God it's the new version. I quite liked Jackie Earle Haley,' Briar said, glad that she could use her voice in this dream. She turned to look to her left and was face to face with Freddy, red and brown sweater and all. She smiled at him. 'Hey, dude' she greeted._

_ 'You're not afraid of me?' he asked, taking a step closer. Briar took a step back, uncomfortable with the closeness._

_ 'No, I'd have to be crazy not to, okay, I guess I'm crazy 'cause I'm not really afraid,' Briar said. Freddy made an unpleasant sound. 'I can tell you the reasons if you like,' Briar offered up. Freddy took another step closer, Briar another one back. 'One, you're a pedophile and I'm not a kid. Two, the only reason you're after me is because I stopped you from killing one of your targets. Three, I'm almost, if not as sadistic as you are, and about as violent too, so really, if I were afraid of you, I should be afraid of myself,' Briar said. Freddy took several more steps toward her, earning him more steps back. He smirked (as best he could) and swiped his claw at her. Briar jumped back and over to the railing, lodging her legs in so she wouldn't fall. 'You want to play a game? How about hide and seek,' Briar offered. She grabbed Freddy's arms and pushed her face right up next to his, staring into his melted eyes. 'I hide, you seek,' Briar said, and with that, dropped onto a lower catwalk crossing below her. She ran off and didn't bother to look behind her, knowing Freddy could show up anywhere he pleased._

_ 'Come out, come out where ever you are,' Freddy's gruff voice cooed. Briar shoved the slight panic down, trying to keep herself calm. She was here, therefore she should get whatever information she could. Work, this was work, and she needed to stay focused, never mind the fact that she hated not knowing where all the dangerous elements were. He laughed, the sound echoing, seemingly inside her __head. 'I am in you head, I can hear everything you think,' Freddy said. Briar turned left at a fork in the catwalk and stopped short. Freddy stood in front of her, claw raised. She back pedaled and headed right, and a thought rose in her mind. He's herding me, Briar's breaths came in even pants._

_ 'You want to corner me, is that it?' Briar called. She stopped running and turned in a circle, completely one-eighty degrees. 'Fine, you pussy, come and get me,' Briar said quieter. Freddy laughed again._

_ 'This is too easy. I was hoping to find a weak link in your armor,' Freddy said, his voice closer and coming from over her left shoulder. Briar turned and glared at him._

_ 'I'm not a moron. I know I can't escape and I know I'm not in my own head. I risked this just to learn a little more about you,' Briar said. She caught her breath and leaned against the railing. Freddy stepped up in front of her and raised his right hand, the claws shimmering in the light. He whipped it down and cut through the railing on that side of her. He stepped closer until Briar could feel him pressed against her. 'Ever hear of personal space, dude?' Briar asked, arching an eyebrow. She leaned back against the railing._

_ 'You wanted story time,' Freddy said, he pressed closer. Briar leaned back and the railing broke. She let out a short scream as she fell, only to be caught by Freddy and held in place by her right hand. She looked down and saw nothing close enough to her to safely break her fall, a sure death. Dylan flew into her mind, and the second it did, Briar wiped it away, but that was enough. 'Oh, so there it is,' Freddy said, his face twisted impossibly into a smirk. He flung Briar out, letting her fall._

Briar shot up, and gasped for breath. Her eyes were wide as she searched the room. Dylan sat at the table, her laptop in front of her, her worried eyes focused on Briar. "What happened?" Dylan asked, standing and moving over to Briar. She sat on the edge of the bed and waited for Briar to tell her what was wrong. Briar rubbed her neck, trying to disperse the cold sweat.

"I'm sorry, Dylan," Briar said, her voice cracking. Dylan leaned into Briar and held her as the girl caught her breath.

"What are you sorry for?" Dylan asked, rubbing circles on her friend's back.

"I brought you into this. I pissed him off, then let him see you, and now," Briar trailed off. A tear slid down her cheek and she gripped the bedsheets. "We have no choice now. We sleep in shifts until it gets to it's worse, then we go without as long as possible," Briar said. Dylan sat back and her eyes shifted away.

"About that, when we hit that line, we only have little over seventy hours to stay awake," Dylan said. Briar pushed her fingers to her temples, relishing in the pressure that relieved her developing headache.

"I know, I'm kind of an expert on the Nightmare on Elm Street stuff, remember?" Briar asked. She looked up at Dylan through her eyelashes.

"Should we call the boys?" Dylan asked. Briar shook her head and stood from the bed.

"We leave them out of this for as long as possible. They wouldn't believe us anyway," Briar said. She gathered some clothes and headed for the bathroom. She turned to Dylan as she stood in the doorway. "I never wanted you involved in this either," Briar said. "I'm supposed to protect you," her voice went quieter. She turned and closed the door, leaving Dylan staring at it.

‡

Briar sat down at the public library and flipped open the book she had pulled. The history of the town was a sure-fire place to start when going back and looking at Freddy. From her experience of the movies, that's where all the information should be. She flipped through the book, looking for any reference to anything she knew about Freddy Krueger. Her eyes narrowed as she went through the book without a mention. She frowned and replaced it, opting to ask a desk clerk for past news papers.

‡

Briar dropped her bag by the door and headed straight for her bed, falling down on it and curling up in a ball. "That hard of a day? Find anything good?" Dylan asked as she came out of the bathroom, drying her hair with a fluffy white towel. Briar sighed and shook her head, burying it further into her pillow. "You've been awake for nearly twenty-four hours, get some sleep," Dylan said. Briar nodded, not bothering to raise her head and curled more into herself. Within seconds, Briar was asleep again.

_ 'Here you are again,' Freddy said, his voice echoing even though he appeared right in front of her this time. Briar lifted the corner of her mouth up in a smirk, expecting to fall into this nightmare. 'I thought I had made things clear,' Freddy said, stepping closer. His eyes washed over her and Briar had to shutter at the thoughts that swept into her brain, all the possibilities of what he was thinking. He laughed, once again, the sound echoing._

_ 'I didn't come here to be oggled at,' Briar said. Something in the change in his posture reflected the statement, of course not. 'I'm curious, you didn't attack Dylan while she was asleep. You and I both know that you will, eventually,' Briar said, giving up on trying to hide Dylan, Freddy knew of her anyway. When Dylan had slept, Briar watched over her, waiting, near biting her nails to the quick for Freddy to attack her._

_ 'I like to take my time,' Freddy said. Briar squinted and turned to look around her for the first time. The setting wasn't the same as her last nightmare, in fact, she was in the hotel room, and she watched Dylan typing away on her laptop, ignorant to what was currently going on. Freddy walked over to Dylan and ran one claw over her cheek. Briar, took a sudden step forward which made him laugh._

_ 'I swear to God, if you hurt her, I will find a way to murder you,' Briar seethed, the words slipping between her clenched teeth. Freddy stepped away from Dylan and turned back to Briar._

_ 'You can't do anything, this is my world,' Freddy said, and vanished. Briar was left staring around the dream room._

_ 'Well, what the hell am I supposed to do now? I was kinda counting on you to keep me company while I slept,' Briar called out. Dylan looked up and over to the bed Briar had fallen asleep on. Briar followed her gaze and saw herself still sleeping there. 'Well, that isn't creepy,' Briar said. She watched herself shift in her sleep and mumble something. She tilted her head. The light in the room darkened, causing Briar_ _to shift her gaze to the windows. 'Oh, so you're still playing with me, are you?' Briar asked. She moved to the door and opened it out into a snowy preschool play yard. Briar sighed and turned to the sign. 'I guess you aren't very original,' she said._

_ 'Do you like it?' Freddy asked. Briar turned to face him, as he had appeared behind her where the door to the hotel room had once been. Briar couldn't help but roll her eyes._

_ 'It's getting increasingly harder to be afraid of you dude. You keep going on this path, and I'll have to kill myself from boredom,' Briar said, earning a growl from Freddy. He stormed up to her and turned her quickly around his heavy breath sweeping past her ear._

_ 'Look at it, look at what I've done,' he said. Against the far fence, Briar could see what he was talking about. Several bodies were pinned up, some upside down, their stomachs and intestines spilling out staining the snow a murky, rusty red. 'That could be you,' he said, his grip getting tighter. Briar was close to panic now, but she choked it down._

_ 'I understand that you're dangerous, I already knew that,' Briar said. Freddy let go of her arms and wrapped his around her chest, bringing is right one up to the left side of her face. He traced one claw down the side and laughed._

_ 'If you're not afraid of me yet, you will be soon enough,' Freddy said._

Briar sat up quickly, eyes landing on Dylan. The chair scraped on the floor as she stood. "What happened, Bri?" Dylan asked, concerned. She grabbed the towel she had used to dry her hair and quickly closed the distance between her and her friend. She put the towel to Briar's face and it was then that she realized Freddy had cut her. He left his mark on her, a promise of pain to come. Briar took the towel from Dylan and held it in place as she stared down at the pattern on the hotel covers.

"He's just starting to play his games," Briar finally admitted. Dylan let out a breath and peeled Briar's hand and the towel away.

"It doesn't look that bad. Did you run?" Dylan asked. Briar shook her head and allowed Dylan to take the towel away. "Jesus, why didn't you run?" she asked. Briar sighed and stood, walking to the bathroom.

"Because I wasn't afraid of him," Briar said. Dylan stood, her face fixed in a glare.

"You should be! You of all people know what he can do!" Dylan threw the towel at Briar. "Bri, you need to protect yourself. Without you, I wouldn't be able to do this!" Dylan screamed, tears coming to her eyes. Briar paused in the doorway, her head down.

"The only reason I'm still alive, is probably because I didn't run away on my first encounter, or any for that matter," Briar said. She looked up into Dylan's eyes and gave a weak smile. "I'm different, therefore I've made him curious about me. The mind of a killer, Dyl, is a strange thing, one you can't understand unless you, yourself, are a killer. I know, that by not running from him," Briar turned to face Dylan head on, her eyes stronger now, filled with her wholehearted belief, "I've earned myself more time. This way, the longer that he wants to screw with me, to play with my head," she pointed to her own skull, "the longer I have to figure this out and come up with the best way to get rid of him forever." Briar stood there, breathing in evenly. Dylan looked down at the floor now, the guilt obvious from her posture. "Dyl, I'm asking you to trust me in this. I'm buying myself as much time as I can, but to do that, I have to surrender some of myself to him, I have to _let_ him toy with my mind," Briar added. Dylan reluctantly nodded. She sniffed and looked back up at Briar.

"I understand," she said, her voice quiet. She cleared her throat and turned to sit back down in her chair. "While we're both up, we should go see Amanda," Dylan added, her eyes glued to her computer screen. Briar nodded and went to bandage her scar and to change.

‡

Amanda's eyes widened when she saw Briar and Dylan on the other side of the door. The girls smiled at her, her appearance better than the last time they had seen her. The bags under her eyes had faded a touch and she looked more presentable, not to mention, less timid. "Hi, Jenna, Alice, how are the two of you?" Amanda asked, her smile wide on her face. She let the two of them in and they sat in the living room as Amanda went off to fix them some tea.

"She seems better," Briar commented, earning a smack on the shoulder from Dylan. Ignoring the glare her friend was giving her, Briar turned back to Amanda, smile on her face. "You're looking quite well," Briar said aloud to their hostess. Amanda beamed.

"Thank you, really, it's all thanks to you. The past two nights I've slept like a baby," Amanda said. Dylan heaved out a sigh, and Briar's face darkened a fraction.

"I wouldn't thank us yet. This isn't over, we just took the heat off you for the time being," Briar said. Amanda's smile faltered.

"What do you mean?" Amanda asked, looking between the two. Dylan shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"The bandage on Alice's face, that means that she's been having nightmares," Dylan said. At Amanda's still confused stare, she opted to continue. "We aren't really FBI agents," Dylan started, uneasy about telling the truth after several carefully woven lies. "We're here to make sure you don't die from whatever supernatural being is haunting you and your friends," Dylan said. Amanda was shocked.

"So, you lied to me?" Amanda asked. She was more baffled than angered. Dylan hung her head in shame.

"We only did it so that we could learn more information and find a way to protect you," Briar said. Amanda was angry now.

"You could have told me the truth!" she yelled, standing. "Maybe you would've gotten more information, maybe I would have felt safer!" Briar stood too, her demeanor cold, her eyes frosty.

"You don't think we can keep you safe, if only for a little while?" Briar asked. She pulled the gauze pad that was covering the thin scar on her cheek away. "I'm dealing with _your_ nightmares so you don't have to," Briar said, her tone deadened. Dylan put a hand on Briar's arm and pulled so that she would sit back down. Briar left the bandage off and stared down at the steaming mug that was left untouched in front of her. When she looked back up at Amanda, she found the other girl's anger had subsided.

"I'm going to take a wild guess and say the names you gave me aren't real, either," Amanda said quietly. Was anything real?" she asked. Dylan nodded.

"Our concern for your safety and our belief that you weren't lying about the dreams, all of that, it was true," Dylan said. "I'm Dylan, and this is my best friend and hunting partner, Briar," Dylan said. Briar smirked.

"My cell number was correct," she added, making a flash of anger rise, not only in Amanda, but Dylan as well.

"So you haven't been having any nightmares, any flashes of Freddy while you sleep?" Dylan asked. Amanda thought for a second before shaking her head no.

"No children, no dead bodies, no Freddy," Amanda said. Briar leaned forward.

"You didn't mention dead bodies before hand," Briar said, catching her slip up. Amanda took in a large breath and she looked like she was on the brink of tears at the memory.

"There were, in my nightmares, I saw my friends, hung up on display, all of them were dead," Amanda said, she wiped away a tear that escaped and looked up at Briar and Dylan. "Seeing that every night, that's what was making it so hard to move on, to mourn Brittney's death properly," she added. Dylan nodded and leaned forward, putting a comforting hand on Amanda's knee.

"It's okay," Dylan said. Briar stood up and turned her back on them. She walked to the windows until she had a clear view of the mustang parked outside.

"I hate to ask this, but where did you see them?" Briar asked. She could feel Amanda's gaze on her back and she heard her sniffling.

"It was in a factory like place. The colors where washed out, the most vibrant was reds, oranges and yellows. It smelled like smoke and burning rust," Amanda described. Briar nodded and turned back to her and Dylan.

"Do you think I could have a set of pictures, one of each friend that you saw," Briar asked. Amanda's eyebrows knitted together.

"What for?" she asked. Briar wiped her hand down her face, wincing as she passed the cut.

"I'd like to be able to put names to faces should I see them," Briar said, she let the conclusion of, 'in my nightmares' drop off the end, knowing Amanda would get the point. After a short while, she nodded and left the room.

"Do you think this is all a good idea?" Dylan asked. At Briar's blank stare, she sighed. "Provoking him, when he can do," Dylan's voice dropped off, instead, she pointed up at Briar's face where the cut lay, still fresh and red. Briar turned back to the window and leaned her forehead against the cold pane.

"If it keeps him away from those who can't handle him, I'm up for it," Briar said. Dylan was silent until Amanda came back and handed her the pictures.

"I wrote their names on the backs," Amanda explained. Briar saw Amanda turn to her through in her reflection in the glass. "Thank you for putting yourself in danger for me, for us," Amanda said, and Briar could tell that it meant everything to her. Briar nodded and left the room heading for the front door. She waited out in the car for Dylan who didn't take very long in saying goodbye.

"Here, you wanted these," Dylan said and put the car into gear after turning it on and buckling in. Briar didn't say a word as they drove back to the hotel, but once they reached their room, she stopped Dylan in the doorway.

"I'm going to go back to sleep," Briar said, her voice distracted, as if her mind was on other things. Dylan turned, her eyes sparking.

"Hell no!" she said, her hands clenching into fists. "Briar, you are not going suicidal on me, again!" Briar felt guilty now, her focus on her friend.

"That's not my intention," Briar said calmly. She let Dylan work herself out of her anger.

"Hell if it's not. Briar, I _know_ you. The only reason you agreed to this is more than likely for your own selfish, masochistic reasons," Dylan said, her voice going ice cold. Anger swelled in Briar, putting a violent flash in her eyes, but she still stayed quiet. "I'm not going to let you go through this again," Dylan finished, her shoulders slumping. After Briar refused to speak, she turned and walked away, slamming the door to the bathroom behind her. Briar sighed and rubbed her eyes. She sat on the foot of her bed and flopped back, her eyes locked on the ceiling.

"Dylan, you haven't slept in a while, it's your turn. Come out here so I can keep an eye on you," Briar said. She waited for the sound of the door opening and Dylan sinking onto her own bed before she moved to sit in front of her laptop. "Good luck," Briar said. She heard Dylan mumble something and then listened for her breath evening out.

_Dylan opened her eyes to see her bedroom in the house she had lived in with Briar for the longest time. It was just the same as she had remembered it, if not just a bit gloomier, grayer. She sat up from her bed, and remembered that it was in this house that she first met Dean, the man she loved, even if he didn't quite love her back yet. She smiled and got to her feet, opening the door out into the hall. It was all the same. She made her way to Briar's room, wondering if her friend was there. When she reached the door, she heard music thumping from the door, vibrating the floor beneath her feet. It was just like Briar to play her music so loud. Dylan knocked on the door, giving four or five loud raps and waited. The music didn't change in volume, nor did she hear any other response from her friend. 'Briar? Are you in there?' Dylan called out. She pushed against the door and it swung open. Dylan switched off the stereo by the door and rounded the rest of the way into the room. Her eyes swept over the scene and she screamed, tears springing from her eyes. Briar hung limply from the ceiling, her __head dangling down, her face blue._

_ Dylan darted forward and grabbed one of the decorative swords off Briar's wall. She stood on the bed and looped an arm around Briar's stomach, hoisting her back onto the higher surface and began hacking at the rope. Briar's body slumped down, nearly taking Dylan with it as soon as the rope gave. Dylan crouched down and held Briar's body in her lap, her tears splashing onto her friend's face. 'Briar, no, you can't do this to me,' Dylan said, sweeping the hair out of Briar's eyes. She moved to lay out the body on the bed and began trying to pump air into the other girls lungs. After rigorous minutes of failed CPR, Dylan wiped her nose on her sleeve and kneeled by the head of the bed. 'Briar,' Dylan cried pathetically._

_ 'She only did this world a favor,' a familiar voice said from the corner. Dylan rounded on it, but her glare faultered when she saw Dean standing there. Looking back at Briar's body, her anger rose again._

_ 'How dare you! She was my friend!' Dylan screamed. She stalked up to Dean and slapped him hard across the face. Dean turned his face back to her, his eyes cold, emotionless, blue? A dangerous smirk crossed his face._

_ 'She was nothing, meant nothing, could do nothing. She was a pain to deal with,' Dean said. Dylan raised her hand to slap him again, but he caught it in his. He pulled her closer to him, his face close to hers. There was still something so wrong with his eyes. 'You should follow her,' Dean said, his voice now very different. Out of the corner of her eye, Dylan saw him raise his right hand, the fingers topped with very sharp blades on his four prominent fingers. She turned astonished eyes to the contraption then back to Dean's face. It was no longer Dean, but a man she didn't recognize. His face was burnt, melted, his eyes tilted into the mess of scars. 'Tell her I said, hello,' he said, his voice gruff now and so much different than Dean's._

_ This wasn't Dean any more, it never was. This was, 'Freddy,' Dylan spoke aloud before she screamed._

Dylan was shook awake, and when she opened her eyes, she found she was still screaming. She heard the echo of a laugh in her head before her eyes focused on Briar. Dylan pushed herself forward and wrapped her arms around Briar's neck and burried her face in the crook of her neck. She cried, the nightmare she had just had rattling her nerves. Briar wrapped hesitant arms around her friend and let her cry. Briar raised her hand and rubbed circles into the other girl's back, trying to calm her down.

"What did you see, Dyl?" Briar asked, her voice quite, so as to not upset Dylan any further. Dylan sniffled and pulled away, her eyes were red and puffy, but Briar could see a deep rooted sadness.

"I saw you, and you were dead," Dylan started. Briar's eyes widened, but she stayed silent. "Um, Freddy, he was in the corner only, he looked and sounded like Dean. He was telling me that the way I found you, hung up on the ceiling by your throat, was best for the world, then he said that I needed to join you, and," Dylan cut off, her voice catching in her throat. Briar wiped a tear from Dylan's face. "He say's hello, by the way," Dylan finished, an odd humor in her voice. Briar frowned and stood, helping Dylan from her bed.

"This is why I would prefer to be the only one to sleep, should we sleep," Briar said. Dylan nodded.

"You're just trying to protect me, like you always do, but I guess my biggest fear is loosing you like," Dylan dropped off. Briar knew that she was hiding something, even from her, and had been since the two met. "I don't think I'll be going back to sleep any time soon," Dylan added, her eyes happier. She went to the bathroom and ran cold water to wash her face, leaving the door open. Briar sat back down in front of her computer and looked at the blank screen.

"Wanna go to the store?" Briar asked when Dylan came back into the main room. Dylan arched an eyebrow.

"Why?" Dylan asked. Briar pointed to the empty cooler by the door. "Oh, planning on staying up now are we?" Dylan asked. Briar was quiet. "You're not going to stay up, I am," Dylan clarified, reading Briar's mind.

"I want my opportunities to learn about him and how he functions," Briar said. At Dylan's face, Briar sighed and stood, turning to appease her. "I promise, that if it starts getting too dangerous, like I wake up with wounds he meant to kill me with and didn't, I will stop going to sleep." Dylan looked over at the cooler.

"You'll try to stay out of danger?" Dylan asked, not looking up at her.

"I won't go looking for it," Briar answered. Dylan frowned, not entirely pleased with the answer, but she let it slide.

"What do we need?" Dylan asked. Briar smiled and grabbed her jacket and the keys.

"I'm hungry, we need food first," Briar said, and both girls left the room.

‡

"Alright, Dylan, it's not like you to be _this_ quiet for _this_ long. What's up?" Briar asked, stopping in the middle of the aisle. Dylan turned to face Briar, her eyes carrying a bit of guilt.

"I'm not going to run from him either," Dylan said. Briar arched an eyebrow.

"Okay," she said. Dylan dropped her gaze to the floor.

"And don't tell me that I can't, because I'm tired of feeling weak and giving in and," Dylan finally realized that Briar wasn't fighting her on this. Briar smiled at her.

"As long as you follow the same rules you're holding over me," Briar said. Dylan smiled now, feeling more like Briar's equal, as strong as her friend had always been. "So, energy drinks?" Briar asked. Dylan let out a laugh and skipped to the back of the convenience store to stock up on caffeine.

‡

"You woke up not long ago, so next sleep is mine. Maybe I'll get a few punches in," Briar smirked over her screen. Dylan clicked on a couple of links and shook her head, smile in place.

"Dude, not gonna happen. As bad-ass as you think you are, I doubt that you could win in hand to hand combat with a _ghost_ that controls your _dreams_," Dylan said. Briar rolled her eyes.

"I never said I would win, just that I could hit him a couple times, hell, maybe even I could get his glove off and become the new Freddy," Briar joked. Dylan laughed at this.

"Yes, because all his power comes from the glove," Dylan did a mock worship of nothing, "All hail the almighty glove of nightmare control and it's new master, Fredina," Dylan said, her tone belaying her heavy sarcasm. Briar snorted and covered her mouth, trying to swallow the gulp of Monster she had just taken.

"Right, like Freddy has worshipers," Briar said once she had swallowed down the drink, coughing a little at the end. Dylan's face turned serious.

"You of all people should know," Dylan said before she turned her computer around to show Briar what she had found.

"Wow, really? An internet shrine for Freddy Krueger?" Briar asked. She scrolled through the site and checked the various posts. "Wow, these people are deranged."

"You're telling me. Might want to mention all this to your boyfriend the next time you see him," Dylan said, a hint of frost in her voice. Briar rolled her eyes and sat back.

"One, he's not my boyfriend, not to mention anywhere near my type. I don't _do_ child molesters. Two, the only reason I had any kind of fascination with Freddy is because I have an odd appreciation for what he does," Briar explained. Dylan just quirked an eyebrow at that.

"An odd appreciation?" Dylan questioned. Briar smiled and nodded. Dylan rolled her eyes. "Whatever dude, your turn to sleep, tell your boyfriend I said to fuck off." She stood and grabbed a book from her bag and sat in the big plush chair stationed in the corner. Briar sighed and dropped down on to her bed and she was out the instant her eyes closed.

_Briar opened her eyes to reveal a white room, the walls padded, the furnishings that occupied it were few and meager. 'Son of a bitch,' Briar said, looking around. She examined herself and groaned in protest. 'I'm really beginning to hate you, you know that?' Briar asked the empty room. She tried to move her arms into a more comfortable place, but couldn't make them budge in the restricted strait jacket. The door to her cell opened and the familiar face washed into view. He smiled at her._

_ 'Hi child, so good to see you,' his voice, the British accent slight, but noticeable. Briar's shoulders slouched._

_ 'Hi Crowley, how are you?' Briar asked, her tone bored, as if she had gone through this several times before._

_ 'You seem calmer today, but I wish you would stop calling me Crowley. That's not my name, you know,' the man said. Briar arched an eyebrow._

_ 'Then what is your name?' Briar asked, going along with this charade. The man laughed._

_ 'It's Jonathan,' he said. Briar's eyebrow stayed up. She nodded and made a sound like she didn't believe him._

_ 'Sure it is. By the way, where am I?' Briar asked, even though she was almost sure she already knew the answer._

_ 'Saint David's Pavilion,' Jonathan answered her. He went around her to undo the buckles on her jacket and Briar sighed when the blood started pumping normally through her arms again._

_ 'Thanks. Can you remind me why I'm in here?' Briar asked. Jonathan smiled at her and flipped a file folder open on his clipboard._

_ 'You're in here for extensive schizophrenia. You solidly believed that you had been transported into another dimension with your friend,' he paused to read the name, 'Dylan, who doesn't exist by the way, we looked her up, and met up with two guys by the names of Sam and Dean Winchester. We had to take away your DVDs because of it,' Jonathan explained. He smiled at her. Briar followed his movements with her eyes, careful not to make any sudden moves._

_ 'Anything else?' Briar asked, sensing that he hadn't relayed everything yet. Jonathan frowned then._

_ 'Recently, you've been refusing to sleep. You kept saying that there was a man with a burnt face after you, and you kept calling him Freddy,' he explained. Briar sighed and crossed her arms over her chest and winced when the movement sent tingles through the nerves._

_ 'Let me guess, you had to take away my Nightmare on Elm Street movies too,' Briar said, her voice so quiet that Jonathan had to take a step closer to hear it. He nodded solemnly. Briar rolled her eyes and turned to sit on the cotton mattress placed on the floor. Her weight made it sag down rather low. Jonathan stepped up next to her and crouched down to be on eye level._

_ 'Luv, you really have to stop doing this to yourself. I want you to get better, I want you to be able to leave here and lead a normal life with your family,' Jonathan said. Briar looked up at him, her eyes flashing wickedly._

_ 'What family?' she asked, her voice emotionless. Jonathan pressed his hands to either side of her face._

_ '_Our_ family. The kids miss you, luv,' Jonathan said. Briar's eyes widened. Jonathan looked incredibly sad. 'You've forgotten all about them again, haven't you?' Jonathan asked. Briar was stunned into silence, but she shook her head. Tears started to spring to her eyes and Jonathan wiped them away. 'So long as you pretend to remember them to their face, I think you'll do okay,' Jonathan __said. Briar took in a large breath and nodded. 'Dr. Lawlace has allowed the kids and Eric to visit you. He thought it might help you remember you're life here, in reality,' Jonathan continued._

_ 'Eric?' Briar asked. Jonathan smiled at her._

_ 'The babysitter. Jessica and Ron are too young to be left alone,' he explained. Briar nodded and stood with the help of her apparent husband. She let him lead her out of the padded room and into a secluded visitor area. Briar arched an eyebrow when she saw Castiel sitting at the table with two children, a boy and a girl, both no older than ten. Jon kissed Briar on the cheek and left her with the small group._

_ When the children saw her they both called out to her in a chorus of excited 'Mommy!'s. Briar smiled at each and bent to give each of them a kiss on the tops of their heads before they ran off to play with some of the toys in the corner. Briar walked up to the table tentatively, her eyes glued to Castiel/Eric._

_ 'Hi,' Briar said, for lack of better words. Eric gave her a brilliant smile which swept her off her feet. Briar had to blink for a few seconds before her brain could comprehend the image. 'Um,' Briar mumbled and dropped into the seat across from him. Eric stood and moved to the seat sitting directly next to her and took her hand._

_ 'You don't have to be off handed with me, the children have know about us for a while,' Eric whispered in her ear._

_ 'Uh, what?' Briar asked. Her brain was clearly not supplying her with the right information. Instead of getting a verbal response, Eric moved her face and pressed his lips to hers, sweeping her into a passionate kiss. Briar was floored. Eric moved back just as the door to the secluded visitation room opened. Briar turned, expecting to see Jonathan, but instead got a man, shorter in stature, his thinning hair brown and his eyes clear, glass blue._

_ 'Sorry Mrs. Cayden, I just wanted to come by and check on you,' he said. He held out his hand to Eric. 'My name is Dr. Freddy Lawlace, I'm Briar's doctor,' he introduced himself. Briar's eyes narrowed. THAT BASTARD. She turned and glared at Freddy. She recognized the similarities now, between this man and the man Freddy used to be before he was burned so badly._

_ 'YOU SON OF A BITCH!' Briar yelled at him. Freddy's eyes looked saddened as he cast a glance over to the children._

_ 'Now Mrs Cayden, I think you should calm down,' Freddy said. Briar continued to glare at him. She watched him pull a syringe out of his coat pocket and uncap it. 'If you can't calm your temper, I'm going to have to give you something to sedate you. I don't want to have to put up a scene in front of your children,' Freddy said, his voice soft. Briar's eyes narrowed and she stepped up closer to him._

_ 'You touch me and I'll cut off something you think is quite important,' Briar seethed, so quiet that only he could hear her. She felt a slight sting before she realized that he had pushed the needle into her arm. Her eyes fluttered closed and she uttered a feral growl before she was unconscious._

_ When Briar came to again, she was back in the padded room, laying on the soft mattress. She was vaguely aware of the warm body beside her. She turned her head and saw that head of thinning brown hair turned away from her, his upper body exposed. When she shifted, she realized that she was devoid of clothing and she nearly retched. She clutched the sheet to her chest and rolled off the bed to land on the floor and she scooted away from it, her eyes locked on Freddy. When she hit the opposite wall, she let her eyes fall closed again and she tilted her head back. 'You are one huge son of a bitch,' Briar said aloud. When she opened them again, Freddy was awake and his own self, striped sweater, burned flesh, the hat and the glove._

_ 'I quite enjoyed this little run in. You're not my normal cup of tea, but it's getting increasingly harder to find children that dream about anything besides ponies and trains,' Freddy said, running a claw up Briar's bare leg, pushing the sheet up higher._

_ 'Dylan, you can wake me up now!' Briar nearly screamed. She felt her shoulder start to shake on it's own. 'By the way, you're disgusting,' Briar said. A sadistic smirk stretched across his face and __that was the last thing she saw._

Briar's eyes flew open and she darted off the bed to the bathroom. Dylan winched when she heard Briar vomiting up her dinner into the toilet. The faucet ran for a short while, no doubt Briar brushing her teeth, then she came out of the room and sat heavily on her bed.

"Wanna tell me what happened?" Dylan asked. Briar shook her head, the thought of it making her sick. Briar rubbed a hand across her mouth and swallowed. She took a deep breath and launched into her dream, telling it with every detail she knew.

"So, that was the strangest dream you've ever told me about," Dylan commented when Briar was done. Briar let out a weak laugh.

"That was a nightmare, and I'm not going to want to go to sleep anytime soon," Briar said. Dylan arched an eyebrow.

"Giving up that easily?" Dylan asked. Briar shook her head.

"I said I'm not going to _want_ to go to sleep, not that I wasn't," Briar explained. Dylan sighed and put her head into her hands.

"I figured you wouldn't," Dylan murmured to herself. Briar smiled and stood, grabbing clothes to change.

"Well, I've got several layers of skin to scrub off, I'll be out in a while," Briar said, closing and locking the door behind her. Dylan heard the water start and she too stood, moving to the door.

"When are we going to call Dean?" Dylan shouted through the door. Briar took her time answering.

"When things get serious and I feel like we can't handle this on our own," Briar called back. Dylan slumped against the wood and thought.

‡

Dylan stared blankly at her screen, her eyes unfocused, making everything blurry. "Hey, Dyl. I think it's time you should sleep," Briar said, putting a gentle hand on her friend's shoulder. Dylan sighed and looked down at her lap. She had skipped her turn in the rotation, opting to stay up, using the excuse that the extra hours were dire in finding a solution to this problem. Dylan shook her head and fought back a yawn.

"No, I'm still looking," she said. She looked up at Briar's disapproving frown. "I've got this covered," Dylan pleaded. Briar sighed and left her, sitting back on her bed. Dylan placed her elbow back on the table and used it to prop up her head as she stared back at her screen. Her eyes stung, so she closed them for a second to rest them.

_Dylan stood and looked around her, unsettled by her sudden change of atmosphere. 'Sweet nibblets,' Dylan said quietly. She knew she was asleep now. She turned to stare down the hallway, her eyes landing on the door to Briar's room. Here again, she thought. 'What am I going to see now? Dean hanging up there next to Briar and Sam saying they both deserved to die?' Dylan called out. She turned around in a circle, trying to find Freddy, and failing. She sighed and started the trek down the hall. Expecting to hear Briar's music playing, she was startled when she heard yelling, one male, one female._

_ 'I don't care, George! You have your family to think of first, and making this decision without me?' the female screamed. Dylan took an involuntary step backwards, her eyes windows to her fear. She remembered this fight._

_ 'Denise, I wouldn't have made this choice if I didn't have the family's best wishes in my head. This will be better for us, a new start. Dylan won't be known as that one freak's friend,' her dad said back, his tone level. Dylan grew angry now. She remembered him refusing to let her go see Briar, having to sneak out and beg the security and doctors to let her see her best friend outside of scheduled visits. The only reason they had allowed it, was because they said it seemed to help ground Briar in reality._

_ This move was one of the worst moments of her life. Dylan stormed forward and burst through the door, entering her old living room._

_ 'Dylan, what are you doing here?' her mother asked, baffled by her sudden appearance._

_ 'I'm not moving, I can't move!' Dylan screeched at her parental figures. Her father's face changed, morphed into furry._

_ 'You have no say in the matter. I, as your father, know whats best for you and this family,' he said, his tone finally rising._

_ 'You have no idea what's best for me!' Dylan yelled back. Her hands clenched into fists at her side, her shoulders tense. She watched him stalk closer, watched his eyes spark, watched him raise his fist. She was scared, so scared, and it all seemed to last for hours, the seconds ticking by ever so slowly. She closed her eyes and braced herself for the hit that was sure to come, but instead of being flung aside by her father's meaty fist, the first of many, she felt claws rip her cheek open, the blood dripping onto her shirt. _

Dylan gasped and her eyes flashed open. She was sitting in the hotel, Briar standing from her bed. "Dyl? What happened?" she asked. Dylan looked down at the table, her eyes widening when she saw the small puddle of blood. She felt her cheek and winced, pulling away her hand to stare at the thick red liquid that was her own blood. "Dylan, we need to get you to a doctor, these need stitches," Briar said, her tone bordering on panicked.

"No, I'm fine, we've got the stuff, don't we?" Dylan asked, calmer than she should have been. Briar shook her head, a deep frown on her face.

"The guys took it with them on their last hunt. They said they were out and I forgot to get more," Briar said. She jumped up and grabbed a towel from the floor and tossed it at Dylan before grabbing her bag and the keys to the mustang.

"We're going to the hospital to get you stitched up, and while you're there, I'm buying us a new first aid kit. If he's going to become more violent, then we'll need it," Briar said. She grabbed Dylan by the upper arm and dragged her out of the hotel. After the first few steps down, Dylan followed on her own. Through the car ride, both girls stayed silent, opting to listen to the songs Briar's ipod felt like playing.

Briar watched as they stitched up Dylan's face, waited patently as they prescribed mild pain medication and put a bandage over it, then she signed Dylan out, under their fake name and drove to the convenience store. Dylan sat in the car while Briar went in to get what they needed. She sighed and let her head fall back against the head rest, her eyes falling closed. The stress was getting to her, she could feel it. She reached her hand up to tentatively touch the bandage on her cheek. If it scared, her and Briar would have matching stories to tell.

"Like it?" a gruff voice asked. Dylan's eyes shot open and she whipped around to view the backseat. Nothing.

"Son of a bitch," Dylan said as Briar got into the car, tossing the bag into the back.

"What was that?" Briar asked, concerned eyes looking for any further harm. Dylan shook her head, her gaze on her lap.

"Just had a little mini dream I think," Dylan explained. Briar was silent as she turned to look out the front windshield.

"I was hoping it wouldn't have to come down to this," Briar said. She leaned over and pulled her bag out of the back floorboard and started digging through it. She pulled out a couple of boxes and showed them to Dylan. "These are for last use only," she said. Dylan arched an eyebrow. "Adrenaline." Briar dropped them back into her bag and just stared down at it.

"So what, we pump ourselves full of drugs?" Dylan asked. Briar shook her head, deep frown lines appearing in her face.

"Last resort, I said. We're obviously not getting enough sleep, or, you aren't. With this, I should be able to bring you back if you were to slip into a coma," Briar explained. She turned to Dylan to see a sly smile on her face.

"You and your fuckin' movies," Dylan said. Briar let out a laugh and turned back to the wheel. She started the car and they went back to the hotel.

Dylan sighed when she lay back down on her bed, her eyes fluttering closed again. She felt something cold land against her leg and she turned to look. "You could use the energy," Briar said as she sat down in front of Dylan's laptop. "You know, I've been thinking," Briar said after a short silence.

"Well that's always dangerous," Dylan commented, causing Briar to laugh.

"About Freddy," Briar clarified.

"Again, dangerous," Dylan added. Briar sighed and Dylan went quiet.

"We aren't really exploring the traditional methods to this. Is he a dream walker? Is he a ghost?" Briar asked.

"Well," Dylan said, sitting up and popping the top to her energy drink. "He sure acted like a ghost or demon with the salt," Dylan said, remembering that night in Amanda's room.

"So, he could be a demon with special powers, but how do we kill it?" Briar asked, clicking a browser open on Dylan's laptop. She ran a search on nightmares, and another one on controlling dreams. It was the best she could do. "Or a ghost on a vengeful streak," Briar concluded. "Damn, this isn't going to be easy. Only thing I can think is burn the bones," Briar said, looking up at Dylan who was nursing her drink. Briar sat back and stared blankly at Dylan's computer.

"What are you thinking, Bri?" Dylan asked. Briar shook her head slowly, obviously distracted. Briar leaned forward and began typing in things and clicking open tabs on the browser, spurred on by an idea. After a short while she leaned back and smiled at Dylan.

"Do you remember what dream root is?" Briar asked. She stood and went for her phone on the bedside table. She checked her messages before scrolling through her contact book.

"Yeah, that's the stuff Dean and Sam drank to get into Bobby's dream. What about it?" Dylan asked. Briar ignored her and called a number, pacing as it rang on speaker.

"Hello?" Bobby's gruff voice came out of the speaker.

"Hey Bobby, I have a few questions for you," Briar said.

"Shoot," Bobby answered. Briar thought for a second.

"Where are Sam and Dean at this moment? If you don't know, I'll just call them," Briar asked.

"They're right here, why?" Bobby asked. Briar tilted her head down, her eyes focused on the floor.

"Do you have any dream root?" Briar asked. Bobby was silent now, probably sending one of the boys to see if there was any left. Briar heard faintly on the other end Sam answering, and it sent a smile to her face.

"Yeah, Sam found some in the kitchen. What were you going to do with it?" Bobby asked. Briar laughed.

"Gonna give this fucker a run for his money," Briar answered. "Send them to Springwood, Ohio, will you please?" Briar asked.

"Sure, you need the help?" Bobby asked.

"Not really, not just yet," Briar said, not failing to miss Dean beginning to bitch about the long drive. "But, hey Bobby, how are you doing?" Briar asked. Dylan smiled.

"WE LOVE YOU BOBBY!" Dylan shouted from her bed. Bobby chuckled, obviously pleased by the attention.

"Good, Dean's not too pleased though," he answered. Briar snorted, then took in a breath.

"Well tell him he can untwist his panties, or, you know, leave them twisted for all I care. I'm in no mood to deal with children, so if he's going to bitch, he needs to get it all out before hand, and I'm sorry for Sammy and you," Briar said. "But I'm more likely to literally bite his head off." Dylan smacked Briar in the leg as she passed. Bobby chuckled again.

"I'm sorry to hear you're having a tough time, any idea on what's been happening?" Bobby asked. Briar started to chew on her thumbnail.

"No," she said cryptically, her tone elevating at the end, forming it like a question. "Well, we're going between ghost, demon, or some form of dream walker," Briar said. Dylan could tell she didn't want to give out certain details.

"We know that he was alive at one point," Dylan said, raising her voice to be heard. Bobby thought for a few seconds.

"Not much I can tell you girls, if it's a ghost, burn the bones," Bobby said. Briar nodded despite Bobby not being able to see her.

"Yeah, we know. Tell Dean and Sam to get on the road now, we don't know how much longer we can stay awake," Briar said. Bobby mumbled something to them then came back on the line.

"Has it gotten to you?" Bobby asked. Briar bit her lip.

"We sorta pissed him off, yeah," Briar admitted. She heard Bobby scoff, no doubt rolling his eyes at them.

"Well, take care of yourselves," Bobby said. Briar smiled now.

"You too, Bobby," Briar said and shut her phone, ending the call. Dylan smiled widely at Briar. "What?" Briar asked, taking a step away from her.

"Dean's coming!" Dylan said and bounced in place on her bed. Briar rolled her eyes but smiled as well. The girl's enthusiasm was contagious. Briar sat down in front of Dylan's laptop again, her mood sobering.

"What do we know about demons?" Briar asked, causing Dylan to stop and deadpan.

"What?" Dylan asked, confused by the whiplash of Briar's mood.

"Demons, their like, really bad souls, and theory tells me that evil or not, the way to get rid of a soul is to burn whats left of the body," Briar said. Dylan nodded, the information sinking in.

"So, what? We find his body, dig him up and burn what's left of him?" Dylan asked, standing from the bed. Briar leaned her head back and stared up at the ceiling.

"Essentially," Briar said.

"What's to say there's anything left of his body?" Dylan asked. Briar sighed.

"Because he probably wouldn't exist in people's nightmares if there wasn't," Briar said, finally turning to stare at Dylan. "Finding him won't be easy," she said, looking back at the screen. Dylan stepped up next to her and looked at what Briar had pulled up.

"Controlling nightmares?" Dylan asked. Briar nodded and stood, grabbing an energy drink for herself.

"I wanna try something," Briar said, turning back to Dylan and leaning against the dresser.

"Which is what?" Dylan asked. She scrolled through the site, trying to find anything that could be leading Briar's thoughts.

"I want to see if we can take weapons into our dreams, try to defend ourselves. If we can, then we know he doesn't have complete control," Briar explained. Dylan nodded and wiped her hand across her face.

"Your going to go back in there, shoot him, and piss him off further," Dylan sighed, knowing already she wouldn't be able to talk Briar out of it.

"No, I'm going to go in there with a piece of paper in my pocket with a short message on it. If it's there when I open my eyes, I know that I can take things with me," Briar explained. Dylan sighed, grateful for Briar's self-saving plan for once. She put a hand on Dylan's shoulder, causing the other girl to look up at her. "Wake me if I start to struggle, any way possible," Briar said. Dylan smiled at her then took her can. Briar grabbed the hotel pad and wrote something on it. She folded it up and pressed it to her lips, her eyes closed. She stood there for a good few minutes before sticking it in her left pocket, her eyes still closed, and making her way to her bed.

"Be careful," Dylan said. Briar hummed and her breathing evened out.

_Briar's eyes snapped open, putting her back in the mental hospital. She heaved out a heavy sigh. 'God I hate this place,' Briar said, her tone bored. She looked around her, at all the patients bustling about in the room. Briar didn't see Freddy anywhere, but that didn't mean he was watching. Briar stuck her hand in her pocket, hoping to feel the smooth texture of paper pressing against her fingertips, but there was nothing there. Briar's shoulders slouched and she leaned back against the pillar, her mood dropped. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Mr. Ley, her old orderly, approaching. He smiled at her and she tilted her head._

_ 'I have a message for you dear, from Dylan,' Mr. Ley said. Briar smiled. At least Dylan existed in this world. He handed her a slip of paper, folded haphazardly in half. Briar opened it and her eyes widened. On the top was the symbol for the hotel, the words in her writing, clear as day._

_ 'Kick it in the ass,' Briar read aloud. She smiled and thanked Mr. Ley, leaving him to tend to other patients, her new goal to search for Freddy._

_ 'Looking for me?' Freddy asked. Briar stared at the man leaning against the wall in patient's clothes, his face the way it would have looked before he had been burned, his voice still the same though. Briar sighed._

_ 'Obsessed with that look of yours? Not very original doing in two mental dreams,' Briar said, walking passed him._

_ 'That last one shook you up though, didn't it,' Freddy said, keeping in step with her. 'I think I can still hear the sound of you retching up your dinner.' He placed a hand to his ear, as if listening._

_ 'Yeah, you're a creep, I gathered that,' Briar said, still making her way through the halls she knew so well. 'And any emotion I had towards you, sympathy, approval, appreciation, it's all gone now,' Briar said matter-of-factly. Briar stopped and turned to face him. 'What I never knew though,' Briar said, her eyes searching his face. Freddy frowned. 'Why?' Briar asked, her voice barely a whisper._

_ 'Why what? Why kill? Why molest little children? Why continue to go on even though I'm dead and none of it makes sense?' Freddy asked, taking a menacing step forward. Briar didn't move, she continued to stare into his eyes, proving her lack of fear._

_ 'Yes, because after all these years of enamor, one tends to wonder about the in-depth thoughts of the character,' Briar said. Freddy was puzzled._

_ 'Character?' he asked. Briar smiled at him._

_ 'Well, obviously, you aren't just a character,' she said. 'But people like to make movies of legends that may or may not be true, throwing it further into the dark so people stop believing,' Briar said. Now Freddy was beginning to show something he shouldn't. _

_ 'So to you I'm just a myth?' Freddy roared, his face and entire appearance changing back to normal. He was angry now. Briar let out a screech and turned to run. Before she could get far, Freddy caught her, his claws raking across her stomach. Briar let out a startled yelp, the pain making her head go foggy. Briar sank to her knees and held her hands to her stomach, feeling the wound. Not too deep, just a flesh wound, Briar thought before the darkened edges of her vision took over._

Briar screamed when she woke then she coughed out the water that had been thrown in her face. She gasped, arching her back off the bed, the pain creating tears in her eyes. "Briar, what the hell happened?" Dylan asked, fussing over the cuts. Her eyes were wide as she pressed the already bloody towel to Briar's stomach. Briar gasped again, the pain surreal to her, her mind was trying to catch up to her body. Briar pulled a shaking hand from the wound and reached into her pocket for the note, pulling it out. She smiled weakly as she handed the now stained paper to Dylan. Dylan, concerned, took it from her and read it, let out a short laugh. Her eyes started to tear up as well as she looked back at Briar. "Bri, you're going to be okay. I'll stitch you up," Dylan said, patting Briar on the arm before running out to the car to get the first aid kit they had left out there. Briar coughed and wiped the water away from her mouth, smearing her blood across her already scaring cheek.

"You just love carving people up, don't you?" Briar asked the empty room. In the back of her head, she could hear the faint laughter. Briar breathed out a laugh as well, her eyes glazing. "Oh, I don't want to go back there, not yet," Briar groaned. Dylan came back in with the kit and rushed to Briar's side. She lifted the towel and smiled up at Briar.

"The bleeding's stopped for now," Dylan said, her tone reassuring. It seemed she had gathered her nerves while she was outside. Briar was silent as Dylan threaded the curved needle and started in on the first gash, the deepest of the four.

"I tried to run," Briar said, her voice distant. Dylan looked up at her, pausing in her work. "I made him mad," she continued. Dylan sighed and went back to stitching.

"I knew you couldn't leave well enough alone," Dylan said, shaking her head.

"No, I didn't mean to, if that's any consolation," Briar said. Dylan sighed again and didn't look back at Briar.

"No, no it's not. You tend to piss people off whether you mean to or not. Sometimes I wonder why I'm friends with you," Dylan said. Her face was grim, her eyes sunken and edged with red and black, both signs of the horror they were facing.

"I hope they get here soon," Briar said. Dylan looked up now. Briar coughed out a laugh. "I want to kick his ass as soon as I can," Briar explained.

"But did it even work? Your stupid experiment?" Dylan asked. Briar smiled and nodded. She took in a deep breath and groaned.

"Can you hurry that up please?" Briar asked, pointing down at her stomach. Dylan rolled her eyes and went back to work. When Dylan was done, Briar lay in the bathtub and poured peroxide over the fresh stitches. She winched as they bubbled and pulled any possible infection out. "Oh God, how I hate this stuff," Briar said. Dylan rolled her eyes and handed Briar another bottle of peroxide from the toilet seat.

"At least you aren't dying," Dylan said, "That's always a plus." Briar groaned again and leaned her head back against the cold tile.

"I hate that man," Briar said. Dylan laughed and pulled Briar up. Briar made every pained noise known to man as she bent to stand. Briar held her tank top up as Dylan mopped away the bubbles with a damp towel and set to winding bandages around her middle.

"I can tell, you just keep going in to those dreams to piss him off more," Dylan said. Briar rolled her eyes, but stayed silent. Dylan finished the bandage and handed Briar her clean pants to change into before leaving her alone. Briar struggled out of her blood and peroxide soaked jeans before pulling on a fresh pair of sleeping pants. She laughed a little at the irony.

"I won't be sleeping tonight, that's for damn sure," Briar said. She sighed and bent her head, debating on going out there. Dylan was miffed at something and she couldn't exactly tell what. "I'm slipping."

Dylan dropped into her chair and put her head on the table. The lack of sleep was beginning to grate on her nerves. She picked her head up at the sound of Your Man by Josh Turner playing on her phone, a smile lighting her lips. "Hey Dean," she said when she opened her phone.

"Hey, babe. How's it going over there?" Dean asked. Dylan could hear his favorite song playing in the background and Sam's soft snores.

"Um, I wish I could tell you it's going great, but I'm not so sure," Dylan said.

"What happened?" Dean asked. Dylan scratched at a spot on the table.

"Briar's hurt. Well, both of us have gotten hurt, but Briar's is the worst," Dylan said. Dean was silent.

"What is it, babe, what's happening," Dean asked. She could hear the concern in his voice. Dylan smiled, and leaned against her arms perched on the tabletop.

"It's uh, I think it's something that Briar wants to say in person," Dylan answered. "But, I'm trying to stay awake, talk to me for a bit?" Dylan asked. She heard Dean let out a low laugh.

"Sure. What do you want to talk about?" he asked. Dylan looked at her computer screen.

"Dreams, what kind of dreams have you been having?" Dylan asked, saying the first thing that popped into her head.

"Well, aside from the usual, nothing real exciting happens in my dreams that I remember," Dean said. Dylan frowned.

"Well, that's very exciting," Dylan commented, rolling her eyes.

"What about you then, what kind of dreams have you been having?" Dean asked. Dylan dropped her eyes to the carpet under her feet.

"Nothing I want to talk about. Ever," Dylan said. She heard Dean sigh and shift the phone to his other hand.

"That bad, huh?" Dean asked. Dylan's eyes started to water.

"Yeah, that bad," she answered, cursing silently when her voice broke. Dean was silent, which meant he had heard it.

"It's going to be okay, babe, I promise. When I get there, everything will get better," Dean said. Dylan knew that this was simply something he always said when he had nothing else to say.

"I know, and I'm holding on til then, I promise," Dylan said.

"Well, babe, I don't know what else to tell you. We're on the road right now," Dean answered back. Dylan smiled.

"How far out are you?" she asked, hoping they were close.

"Almost out of Iowa," Dean said. Dylan chuckled, remembering Briar's earlier comment.

"I'm not the only one that wants you to hurry Dean. I think Briar's beginning to think she's in over her head," Dylan said.

"Wow, I never thought there would be a case that she couldn't take on alone," Dean said, his amazement clear in his voice.

"As much as she seems like it, she's not Wonder Woman, Dean. She's still human as far as I know," Dylan said, earning a short laugh from Dean.

"I know, she's just so strong. But I guess that's why you're so soft around the edges. There has to be someone in the world to balance that girl out," Dean said.

"Wow, all this insight so late at night Dean. Did someone take his smart pills or something?" Dylan accused jokingly, taking the conversation into a lighter mood, something she needed.

"Yeah, Sammy shoved them down my throat," Dean said. Dylan rolled her eyes as she laughed at the image she got.

"I bet that was fun. So how are you two doing anyway?" Dylan asked.

"Good. We've been without a hunt in a couple of weeks, so it's been kind of boring," Dean said. Dylan smiled. "Hey, babe, I should start concentrating on the road here soon," Dean said. Dylan smiled.

"Okay. Tell Sam I said hi when he wakes up. Have a safe drive, Dean," Dylan said. Dean said goodbye and both hung up. Dylan continued to stare at her phone for a while before Briar finally came out of the bathroom.

"Hey, was that Dean?" Briar asked, sitting on the bed with a book.

"How'd you know?" Dylan asked. Briar smirked at her.

"The shit eating grin gave it away," Briar said, and her eyes diverted to her book. "How far out are they?" Briar asked. Dylan sighed and sat down on her own bed, best to use it, even if it weren't for sleeping.

"Just leaving Iowa," Dylan relayed.

"What, were they speeding or something?" Briar asked, looking up at Dylan. Dylan smiled and flopped back.

"Probably, knowing Dean," Dylan said.

"I need metal," Briar said out of the blue. Dylan turned to look at her, her eyebrows furrowing.

"Why do you need metal?" Dylan asked. Briar smirked deviously at her book.

"I have a project in mind. It'll distract me for the couple of days it'll take them to get here. Time best used for preparing for the last stand," Briar said.

"Alright Wolverine. What's this project of yours?" Dylan asked, her eyes back on the ceiling. Briar just let out a short, but wicked laugh, causing Dylan to sit up. "Please tell me you aren't going to do what I think you are," Dylan said.

"Can't promise that," Briar answered. She leaned over, groaning as she did so, and grabbed a sketchpad from her bag, settling it in her lap in front of the book. Dylan went quiet as Briar began drawing up her plans, the only sound in the room the scratches of the pencil on paper.

"So, any specifications on it?" Dylan asked, only half curious. Briar frowned, her hand still moving.

"I guess I need to talk to Crowley in order to get the right metal blend," Briar said. Dylan rolled her eyes and laid back down.

"As long as I don't have to talk to him or see him, I'm good," Dylan said. Briar huffed out a sigh and rolled her eyes to Dylan.

"I'll make it a quick and painless exchange," she said, trying to appease her already agitated friend.

"Good," Dylan said. She sighed and stared up at the ceiling. "What do we do now, Bri? Sit here and twirl our thumbs?" she asked. Briar stopped sketching and stared over at her friend. "I don't know about you, but after that little fiasco, I really don't feel like going back into la la land," Dylan added.

"I know what you mean," Briar said, shifting in her place and grunting. "This shit hurts." Dylan rolled her eyes.

"You are such a baby," she said. Briar sighed and went back to sketching. Dylan got bored of staring at the ceiling and stood, opting to surf the web for anything relevant. "So, why don't we just look for his grave site online?" Dylan asked. Briar stopped sketching for a second.

"Because I've already tried that," Briar said, going back to her work. Dylan went quiet again, thinking.

"So you think salting and burning the corpse, demon or ghost, he'll kill over and stop tormenting people?" Dylan asked.

"Yup," Briar said. She stopped sketching again and stood, pad and cell in hand. "I'm gonna go call Crowley," she added. Dylan nodded, her attention back on her computer.

Dylan turned when Briar walked back in, not two seconds after she left. Her form was bloody and beaten, more claw marks covering her body. "Jesus, what happened?" Dylan asked, standing up. Briar looked up, her blood coated hair hanging in clumps, a devious smirk on her lips. She opened her mouth to laugh, and the sound that came out wasn't hers.

"Sweet dear, you're so close to the edge," the voice said. Briar lifted her hand and pointed behind Dylan. She turned to look at what Briar was pointing at, to find herself on the edge of a cliff. Dylan screamed, her eyes shut tightly. She winced when someone touched her, but calmed when she heard Briar's voice, her real voice.

"Dylan, what's wrong?" Briar asked. Dylan turned and hugged Briar, crying into her shirt.

"I, you were all bloody," Dylan said, pushing Briar away to look over her. Briar was still the way she had left, white tank top and black sleeping pants, no blood to be seen. Dylan turned to look behind her, the hotel room swimming into view. "What's happening to me?" Dylan asked, still crying. Briar checked the time on her phone.

"When was the last time you slept?" Briar asked. Dylan continued to stare at the opposite wall, her mind trying to comprehend what she just saw.

"Uh, it's been a while," Dylan said. Briar stepped in front of Dylan.

"After seventy hours, your brain starts to shut down. Jesus, Dylan, you're bordering the edge of going into a coma," Briar said. She grabbed Dylan's shoulders and shook her, trying to get her attention back. "This isn't good, Dyl. You need to try to stay awake," Briar said. Dylan nodded meekly, her eyes focusing on Briar's face. She blinked and it was bloody, again and it was clear. Dylan sniffled.

"I don't want to be at his mercy, Bri, I don't," Dylan said, panic raising in her. Briar searched her eyes and nodded.

"I know you don't, and I'm going to try my hardest to make sure you don't get there," Briar said. She pushed a piece of hair out of Dylan's eyes and led her to the bed to sit her on the edge. "Just read or something, I'll be right here. Do you think you can stand being in the same room as Crowley so I can get this done?" Briar asked. Dylan nodded again and pushed herself further onto the bed.

"Get my journal, I'll record what we know about Freddy," Dylan said, her voice still distant. Briar dug through Dylan's bag and pulled out the blue book, handing it and a pen off to her before turning and dialing a number, no doubt Crowley's, to continue her conversation. A few minutes later, Dylan was peering up at Crowley over the top of her journal, watching him.

"So, let me get this straight, you want me, to give you, blessed silver so you can make yet another weapon capable of killing me, am I right?" Crowley asked Briar. Briar nodded and looked down at her sketch.

"Whether or not he's a demon, if he's affected by this, it'll let me know," Briar said. Crowley crossed his arms and leaned on them, pushing himself closer to the table.

"Why can't you take one of the knives I've supplied you with?" Crowley asked. Briar sighed and bent her head, placing it on a folded arm.

"Because he might be expecting that," Briar said. Crowley leaned back in his chair and thought for a second.

"Alright, I'll get it for you, in fact, I'll have it made for you, so you can use your precious time learning more about this demon or whatever you think it is," Crowley said. Briar let out her breath and began thanking him. "I'll have it here by tomorrow at the latest," Crowley said before disappearing.

"You're a liar, you know that?" Dylan asked. Briar arched an eyebrow and turned to her.

"How so?" Briar asked. Dylan scoffed and set her journal aside.

"Freddy wouldn't be expecting anything. His power has gone to his head and he thinks he's the only one that can control what goes on," Dylan said. Briar rolled her eyes and stood, laying down on the bed beside Dylan.

"You're right, I think it's just more poetic to take him down with his own weapon," Briar said. "And more bad ass." Dylan let it go and handed her journal to Briar.

"Sound right?" she asked, changing the subject. Briar took the book and read through what Dylan had written and handed it back.

"Yep, just about," Briar said. She stood and grabbed her own journal, folding and sticking the printed obituaries into it, as well as transferring her sketch of the claw to the pages. She started writing her own description and information in it.

"So, what are we going to do?" Dylan asked. Briar sighed and dropped her pencil.

"I really don't know this time," Briar said. She looked over at Dylan, her eyes saddened. "Dyl, I think that he actually might be too powerful for us," she added.

"Don't say that. We can't give up," Dylan said, standing from her bed. Briar sighed and rubbed her eyes.

"We're working on very thin ice, Dylan. I don't see how we're going to get through this," Briar said. Dylan nodded and sat down at the edge of her mattress.

"You're really counting on Dean being here, aren't you?" Dylan asked. Briar sighed.

"Yeah, just a little," Briar answered.

"Just because you want the dream root to get this over with, or something else?" Dylan asked.

"I'd like your backup when I go in there to face him. In order to wake us up though, we'd need Dean and Sam," Briar admitted. Dylan sat there quietly.

"How are we going to make it to tomorrow?" Dylan asked. Briar turned to face her friend, a defeated glaze to her eyes.

"I don't know, Dyl," Briar said. She stood and turned to the door. "I need some fresh air. If you need me, I'll be right outside," Briar said. Dylan nodded and watched her leave before taking her seat in front of her laptop.

Briar leaned against the wall, staring over the banister out into the parking lot of the cheap hotel they were at. She breathed in the cool night air and her muscles began to release their tension.

"Scared, aren't you?" Freddy asked. Briar didn't jump, she knew he would show up eventually. Despite sleeping, her and Dylan weren't getting very restful slumbers, pushing them to the brink sooner than they realized. It wouldn't be long until Freddy would have them in his clutches, permanently. She just hoped that Dean and Sam got here before that happened.

"No, just exhausted," Briar answered. Freddy laughed, the sound coming from all directions. "I really hate when you do that," Briar said. She turned to face the voice and found nothing. "I think you're the one that's scared," Briar added, now talking to herself. Freddy didn't answer, which meant he wasn't there anymore. Briar's phone rang and she opened it, showing the caller ID as Sam.

"Hey, Sammy," Briar greeted.

"Briar, hey, what's up?" he asked. Briar sighed and stared down at her bare feet.

"Just trying to stay awake, you?" she countered. She heard Dean snoring. No doubt they had stopped, whether in a meadow or a hotel, but Dean was out for the night.

"I slept most of the drive over, Dean's out now. I thought I'd call and see how you two are doing," Sam said. Briar smiled.

"That's sweet Sam, thanks. We're as good as we can be. I got a slice taken out of me, but it wasn't too horrible," Briar said. She heard Sam pause, thinking over what he wanted to say.

"Look Briar, it's okay to ask for help every once in a while," Sam started. Briar sighed and rolled her eyes.

"I know, Sammy, I really do. It's just that I was practically raised by myself, and I wasn't given anything without having to work for it, so I try to do the best I can with what I have," Briar said.

"I know Briar, trust me I do. It's just, call us sooner, you know? We'll be happy to help if we can," Sam said. Briar felt bad now. Sam was worried about her and Dylan, and she didn't like making the people she had grown to care about concerned.

"That's why I called when I did. I was originally going to wait for a few more days, but its," Briar cut off when she saw Freddy standing out in the parking lot. She rubbed her eyes with the back of her free hand.

"What's wrong?" Sam asked. Briar shook her head, trying to get herself to focus.

"Nothing, I'm just hallucinating," she dismissed it.

"That's not normal Bri," Sam said, his voice so open, the concern flooding out of it.

"Well, it is when you haven't slept very well in nearly seventy hours," Briar countered.

"Why aren't you sleeping?" Sam asked. Briar slid down the wall to sit on the cold concrete.

"It's this damned dream _thing_," Briar said, glaring up at Freddy who had appeared in front of her. He vanished as soon as she blinked. "He's tormenting me because I kept him from a kill," Briar said.

"How'd you do that?" Sam asked. Briar could imagine him pacing outside the impala or in the hotel room. Judging by his voice, he wasn't close enough to Dean to wake him.

"I, uh, attacked him with salt, and he kinda sizzled," Briar said. Sam was quiet for a second.

"Sounds like a ghost to me," Sam said. Briar nodded and turned to stare in the opposite direction when Freddy appeared in front of her.

"Or a demon," Briar added. She heard the brush of his hair across the mic and assumed he was nodding his head. "Dylan and I were going to try and find where he's buried, because we know he used to be alive," Briar said. Freddy hissed at her. He was spying, trying to figure out what her plan was.

"And how did you find this out?" Sam asked. Briar smirked.

"I have a question for you," Briar said, avoiding his. Sam coughed and waited. "Have you ever seen A Nightmare on Elm Street?" Briar asked. Sam was quiet, debating.

"Yeah, the new one," Sam said. "Went with Dean to go see it," he added.

"Good, then you'll be kinda prepared for this case," Briar said.

"What does that mean?" Sam asked, becoming more concerned for Briar's sanity.

"Nothing. How far out are you?" Briar asked. She heard Sam chuckle.  
"We're in the middle of Illinois," Sam said. Briar rolled her eyes.

"Oh Jesus, Dean speeds like there are hell hounds on his tail," Briar said. Sam laughed at her. "So, I guess we should expect you in the next day or so," Briar added.

"Yeah, with the way Dean drives, this isn't going to be a long trip," Sam agreed. Briar smiled into the phone, glad that Sam was always so passive.

"Well, Sammy, thanks for the call, but I should go check on Dylan," Briar said. Sam hummed.

"Yeah. Bye Briar, it was nice talking to you," Sam said and hung up. Briar clicked her phone shut and looked up at Freddy.

"Happy with what you heard?" She asked. He cackled and disappeared.

"It's you that's dreaming about me," his disembodied voice called. Briar rolled her eyes and stood to go back to her room.

"You okay there Dylan?" Briar asked as she shut the door. Dylan smiled over at her before turning back to her computer.

"Yeah, just watching a movie," Dylan said. Briar came to stand behind her hand watched over her shoulder.

"Really? You know, I've got the cables to hook your computer up to the TV," Briar said. Dylan rolled her eyes and paused the movie, looking to Briar expectantly. "Alright," Briar said, and began digging through her bag, pulling out them out and handing them off to Dylan.

"Should I start it over?" Dylan asked, turning the screen on. Briar smirked and nodded. Dylan dragged the slider back to the beginning and both sat on the edge of Briar's bed, their eyes locked on the screen showing My Bloody Valentine.

‡

It was hours later when Briar got a call from Dean telling her that they were near the Ohio border. Briar told them what hotel they were staying at and hung up. Dylan looked over at Briar, a small smirk on her face.

"I thought of something you didn't," Dylan said. Briar turned to look at her, confused. "We'll need some of his DNA for the dream root," Dylan said. Briar laid back and stared up at the ceiling.

"We go and get it, or, one of us does," Briar said. Dylan stood from the bed and looked down at Briar.

"Then it's settled, I'm going in," Dylan said. Briar glared up at her.

"No, you're going to stay here and make sure I come out unscathed," Briar countered. Dylan shook her head.

"Not gonna happen, dude. You're still injured, and I'm not going to risk you," she argued. Briar sat up and fought a wince.

"But I know how to argue with him," Briar said. "You're more vulnerable to him than I am. You've done nothing but run from him." Dylan growled at Briar.

"I can handle myself, Briar," Dylan said. "Not to mention, I'm less injured than you are, I can run if things get tough," Dylan said. Briar stood to her full height and looked down at Dylan.

"It's not about running with him. That never works, he'll always be able to find you. It's about getting close enough to get what I need and then get out. I'm not going to die from this, if I need to, I can still run," Briar argued back. Dylan glared at Briar.

"Well," Dylan said, her argument failing. Briar smiled at her.

"Dylan, in the end, it all comes down to whether or not you can reason with him, and I can do that," Briar said. Dylan hung her head.

"I wish you didn't" she said. Briar wrapped her arms around her friend.

"It's okay Dyl, I can protect myself," Briar said. Dylan nodded and Briar lay back down. She stretched out and closed her eyes, drifting off more easily than she should have.

_Briar found herself back in the factory, the color red blurring in front of her. 'So you've returned on your own,' Freddy said, stepping out from behind a corner. Briar rolled her eyes and leaned against the railing, waiting for him to approach her. 'I thought you had gotten the message,' Freddy continued._

_ 'What? The message that you were done playing with me?' Briar asked. She shook her head slowly. 'No, I don't think I did,' she said. Freddy growled at her._

_ 'I'll never be done with you,' Freddy countered, moving in closer. 'I want you to hit that wall. I want you to stay here forever,' Freddy said. He leaned his face in close to Briar's pressing his mouth against her ear. 'I want you as my eternal entertainment,' he said, and licked a line up to her hair. Briar held back her gag and focused on what she came here for. She reached up and caressed the side of his face, the one that was most open. Before he knew it, Briar had tucked her fingers under a loose piece of flesh and pulled it off. She pushed him and started running away, screaming at the top of her lungs. Briar hit a wall and..._

She sat up, still screaming. Dylan looked concerned. "Did he hurt you?" Dylan asked. Briar panted and shook her head. She opened her hand and looked down into the palm. There sat a tiny bit of burnt flesh, straight from the face of Freddy. "Dude, you got it!" Dylan shouted, jumping from the bed and doing an odd dance. Briar frowned down at the bit of flesh.

"The thought of drinking that is kinda making me gag," Briar said. Dylan stopped dancing and made a sound like retching.

"I didn't want to think about that till absolutely necessary," Dylan said. Briar let out a laugh. She stood and put the flake of skin in a plastic baggy and dropped it into the cooler.

"So what are we going to do now?" Briar asked. She leaned against the door jamb and stared at Dylan. Dylan stood there staring over at Briar. Both of them jumped when someone knocked on the door. Briar turned and opened it, sighing when Crowley stood there.

"You girls are too jumpy. What's got your knickers in a twist?" Crowley asked. Briar rolled her eyes and let him in.

"We've been keeping horrible sleeping patterns," Briar explained. Crowley produced a box and set it on the table before turning back to Briar.

"For you," he said, then vanished. Briar began jumping up and down, clapping as she did so.

"He brought it!" she cried and nearly jumped on the box. She ripped the top off and her eyes widened at the shiny contraption inside. Briar lifted the claw out and pulled it on, flexing her fingers to judge how much of a fist she could make. Dylan's eyes were wide.

"Are you freaking serious?" Dylan asked, her voice raising. "Are you turning into Freddy now?" Briar grinned sadistically and looked up at Dylan.

"Not by a long shot, but this thing is wicked," Briar said. She made a slashing motion in the air and giggled. Dylan took a step back and pulled her phone from her pocket. She took a picture of a sadistically grinning Briar with the claw and sent it to Dean, the message, "she's scaring me" to go along with it. A few seconds later, Dean's ring tone started playing and Dylan hit send, pulling the phone up to her ear.

"Help. Me," Dylan said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"What's wrong, babe?" Dean asked, slightly panicked. Dylan giggled.

"Briar got a new toy, and she's being kinda scary with it," Dylan explained.

"That's always dangerous. We aren't far out, I'll be there soon to save you," Dean said seriously. Dylan giggled again.

"Please, I don't need saving from Briar, she's just a freak is all," Dylan said.

"DORK!" Briar screeched, making sure Dean could hear it from his end. Dylan rolled her eyes when she heard Dean laugh.

"Get here soon though. I'm not sure how much longer we'll be able to last," Dylan said.

"I'm almost there, babe. We're just outside of the next town over," Dean said. Dylan sighed in relief.

"And you've got the dream root?" Dylan asked. Briar started bouncing in front of her, keeping her clawed hand behind her back.

"Yeah, we do," Dean said. Dylan heard Sam mumble something over the phone. "Sammy's going to mix it up for you," he added. Dylan felt some of the tension leak out of her muscles.

"Thank goodness. By the way, Briar's whispering something about wanting to talk to Sam," Dylan said. Dean sighed and she heard him pass the phone over before Sam said hello. Dylan passed the phone over to Briar and backed away from her, not wanting to turn her back on her hyper, jumpy, armed friend.

"Hey Sammy," Briar greeted, no longer bouncing. She waited while he said hello, another grin spreading across her face before it went back to seriousness. "Yeah, we've got a bit of DNA, though it's going to be tough to get it down," Briar said. Dylan could see her struggling to keep her mind on one thing. "I've got it on ice, so," Briar said. It wasn't long before she said good-bye and handed the phone back over.

"So?" Dylan asked. Briar sighed and looked off to the side, supposedly staring at something.

"They'll be here in a few minutes. Sam said Dean started to speed up as soon as he handed the phone over," Briar said. She backed up to the table and took the claw off while her hand was still behind her back, her eyes locked onto the patch of wall. She turned and pushed it into the box before putting the lid back on and walking up to the door. "I think I'm going to get some air," Briar said right before closing the door behind her.

"I never thought I'd see you run from me," Freddy said as soon as Briar had the door shut. He paced up to her and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, Briar wincing away as he did so. "And what was that you were hiding from me?" he asked. Briar shook her head, her eyes shut tightly.

"You're not here, you're not here," Briar repeated to herself. When she opened her eyes, Freddy was gone, the only sign of him was his fading laughter. Briar sighed and turned to face the door, hoping that that was the last waking dream she would have. She pushed the door opened and her eyes landed on Dylan who was staring at her phone and rocking back and forth slightly. "I think you've lost it," she commented, causing Dylan to look up at her.

"You've lost it!" Dylan countered. Briar rolled her eyes.

"Tell me something I don't know," she said and went to sit at the edge of Dylan's bed. "We have just a few more minutes," Briar said, knowing what Dylan was anticipating. Dylan looked up and frowned at her. Briar's phone chimed, signaling a new text. She answered it and continued to watch Dylan with a knowing smirk.

"How much longer do you think?" Dylan asked, looking up at Briar. Briar smiled at her.

"Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two," Briar said and turned to the door which opened when Briar would have said one. Dylan shot up and launched herself at Dean as he walked in, wrapping her arms around his neck and clinging to him. In turn, he wrapped his arms around her waist and squeezed, his face buried in her shoulder.

"Dean, thank God," Dylan breathed out, loosening her grip and leaning back, smiling up at him. Dean smiled at her and then over to Briar.

"Wow, I feel special," Dean said. Briar and Sam rolled their eyes at the same time. Sam stepped around Dean and approached Briar, a small parcel in his hand.

"How are you doing?" Sam asked, ignoring the current make-out session going on between the couple in the open doorway. Briar looked over Sam's shoulder and rolled her eyes again.

"I think the world could end and they wouldn't even realize it," Briar commented. She turned back to Sam with a tired smile on her lips. "As good as a girl can be on a severe lack of sleep," she told him. Sam sat down next to her and handed the parcel to her.

"I brought enough for the four of us," Sam said. Briar frowned and shook her head.

"I'm afraid not, Sammy. You and Dean are going to stay here to make sure we wake up," Briar said. Sam frowned at her now.

"Why not?" Sam asked. Briar shook her head again.

"Because, I'm not entirely sure we'll be able to get out. I guess it's time I tell you and Dean the whole story," Briar said. She looked up at Dylan and Dean still standing in the open doorway making out. "HEY YOU LOVE BIRDS!" Briar shouted at them. They parted and turn to look at her innocently. "Dean, that innocent look doesn't work on you," Briar said, standing. She pointed to the beds and went to stand in front of them like a lecturer. "Sit," she commanded. Dean looked sheepish and sat on the edge of Briar's bed, Dylan beside him. "Not you, Dylan, you freak," Briar said. Dylan rolled her eyes but stood anyway.

"So, what's up?" Dean asked, looking between Briar and Dylan.

"I don't know how to say this gently, so here it goes. We're fighting Freddy Krueger," Briar said. Dean blinked and began laughing.

"He's a fictional character, Briar," Sam said, looking at Dylan who was shaking her head.

"Nope, no he's not, look," Dylan said, pulling the bandage on her cheek off. Sam winced in sympathy at the harsh red cuts pulled together by several black stitches. Briar pulled up her shirt to show them the almost fresh slices on her stomach.

"Damn," Dean said, standing to get a closer look at the cuts on each girl. "So, do you two have any idea how to fight him?" he asked. Briar dropped her shirt and sighed.

"Dylan and I have to fight him on his own turf. Maybe just enough to get any kind of information out of him, but if that fails, to the death," Briar said. She could see the complaints already on Dean's face.

"If I didn't think Dylan could do this, I wouldn't let her go, but she's just as determined as I am to get rid of him," Briar said. "Not to mention she's seen what he's capable of." Dean was silent. Briar moved to the cooler and pulled the baggie out, making Dylan gag again.

"So, I was able to get some of his flesh, believe it or not, and I know that we can take weapons in with us, so long as we visualize us in there with the items we want," Briar said. Dylan hummed and nodded, as if she actually knew what was going on.

"So what do you need us here for?" Dean asked. Briar frowned and looked over at Dylan.

"Unfortunately, I don't know whether or not we'll be able to wake up on our own," Briar said. Dylan perked up and turned to Dean.

"The human brain has a limit as to how long it can go without sleep. After about seventy hours, it starts to periodically shut down without you realizing it. Basically, this means you're having a waking slumber. Briar and I are already past that point. After that, you're brain shuts down permanently, sending the body into a coma," Dylan said, her voice getting sad at the end. Dean nodded, finally understanding.

"And how do you think Sam and I are going to pull you two out of a coma?" Dean asked. Briar moved to her bag sitting on the table. She pulled out a few boxes and set them out on the table as a demonstration.

"Inject us with these," Briar said.

"What are those?" Sam asked. Briar sighed and moved back to Dylan, handing her the baggie to put back in the cooler. She gripped it with two fingers and held it away from her body, dropping it into the cooler.

"Adrenaline," Briar stated. "It should wake us up. There's two there, it's all I could get," Briar said. Dean nodded and leaned his elbows on his knees, his hands holding his head up.

"Now what was with that freaky claw Dylan sent me a picture of?" Dean asked. Briar giggled and placed her finger to her lips, imitating that he should be quiet.

"It's a surprise for Freddy," Briar said. Dylan nodded and went to sit next to Dean.

"So all you need now is the dream drought," Sam said, standing. Briar nodded and led him to where she was keeping a couple of cups that he could mix the solution in.

A few moments later, Briar and Dylan were sitting back on their respective beds with the dream drought in their hands. Both of them were frowning down at the beverage. "I have a little piece of Freddy floating in my drink," Briar said, poking at the bit of skin they had cut in half. Dylan made a sound like she was gagging. Briar giggled and looked over at her.

"Bri, don't make this harder for me than it already is," Dylan said. Briar stopped giggling and turned back to her drink.

"Think of it like it's a pill or something. For like, a headache," Briar said, and proceeded to down the beverage, gagging once. Dylan gagged again before downing hers. She pressing a hand to her lips to try to keep it down. Before either of them knew it, they were both passed out on their beds.

_Briar looked around her and down at her feet. She saw the duffel bag where she imagined it. She bent to unzip it, finding all the weapons the girls would need. She pulled the box out and fastened the claw in place. Dylan appeared beside her not much long after her. She tossed Dylan a shot gun and a vial of holy water, before handing off a box of salt rounds. Briar picked up her own gun and turned to look at Dylan. 'Time to get the show on the road, girly,' Briar said. The opened the door to the hotel and stepped out into the snowy playground._

_ 'Where are we?' Dylan asked. Briar glanced behind her at the school and shuddered._

_ 'Where all this started,' Briar said. Dylan turned, examining the area and gagged when she laid eyes on the bodies pinned to the fence, their insides spilling out tainting the snow an odd rust color._

_ 'I don't want to know,' Dylan said an turned back to follow Briar._

_ 'Follow me,' Briar said, and led the way into the school, her eyes casting in every direction looking for Freddy. She pushed the door open, wincing as it made a loud noise. She stepped in and looked down both halls. 'If I were Freddy, where would I be?' Briar asked herself. Dylan stepped up beside her and glanced down the hall to the left._

_ 'Didn't you tell me that he lived in the basement?' Dylan asked. Briar nodded and turned left, letting her instincts lead her. Soon, they came to a door marking the basement room, and opened it. Briar stepped through and the door slammed shut behind her, locking Dylan out. Briar turned and banged on the door, calling out Dylan's name._

_ Dylan stared at the door that came so close to chopping her hand off. She was surprised she __hadn't wet herself from the close call. Dylan turned when she heard laughter, aiming her shotgun first. As soon as her eyes landed on Freddy, although he was stunned to see her with a weapon, she fired, causing him to disperse. Ghost? Freddy hissed in her ear behind her and Dylan whipped around to fire again, catching him in the throat. She heard Freddy groan and Dylan started to scream. She ran down the hall trying to find another way to get to Briar._

_ Briar turned when she heard Dylan's fading screams. There were tears slipping down her cheeks, but she wiped them away and headed down the stairs. She reached the room she recognized as Freddy's bedroom, the scene so similar to that of the movie, except for the various lit candles. Briar gagged at the thought that rose in her head. 'Perv,' she mumbled. Briar looked around, and upon not finding anything of value, turned to leave, only to come face to face with Freddy, his eyes showing his surprise, even though his face was stoic._

_ 'I never thought you would come directly to me, in my dreams,' he said, stepping forward. Briar moved her left hand back behind her back, holding the shotgun in her right at chest level._

_ 'I wanted this to be over,' Briar said. Freddy cackled, still approaching her. He stopped when he was mere inches away._

_ 'But it is over. You can never leave now,' Freddy said, running his claw across Briar's cheek, being so careful as to not cut her. His eyes washed over her entire face, drinking in the beauty he saw in it. 'It's been so long since I've had one as pretty as you, though, not as old,' Freddy said to her. Briar took a few steps back, Freddy taking those steps forward to stay that same pace away._

_ 'What would you do if I said I didn't want to spend eternity with you,' Briar said, her voice calm, collected._

_ 'What would you do if I told you I had Dylan tied up somewhere, all ready to be carved up if you disagreed?' Freddy said back. Briar's eyes narrowed._

_ 'You son of a bitch!' Briar screamed and flung her left hand out and across him, slicing into his flesh. His eyes widened at the sudden strike. He staggered back and stood in shock._

_ 'How?' he questioned. Briar had fresh tears streaking down her cheeks. Briar shook her head, too stunned to answer._

_ 'You let Dylan go,' Briar said finally. Freddy laughed now and stepped closer again._

_ 'I knew she would be the weak link in your armor,' Freddy said. He bent his face up slightly to stare her in the eyes after he closed the distance between them. 'Say you'll stay,' Freddy said. Briar felt trapped, consumed by the urge to sacrifice herself for Dylan. Really, who deserved to live more, Briar thought, Dylan or me? _

_ 'Let Dylan go,' Briar said, her tone defeated._

_ 'Not what I want to hear,' Freddy said. Briar sniffled and shook her head._

_ 'I'll stay here for eternity,' Briar finally said, letting him hear the words he wanted to._

_ 'Then she's free,' Freddy said, smiling. He pulled Briar to his lips pressing her against them._

_ Dylan panted and leaned back against the railing, watching both sides of her. Her gun was slung over her shoulder to make it easier for her to run. When she had left the preschool, her surroundings quickly turned into that of a factory. She recognized the description from that of what Amanda had told her and Briar. After she had left the snowy yard behind, she hadn't seen Freddy for a while, but still she continued to run just in case he was waiting for her to stop. Dylan finally stopped when her legs couldn't take her any farther. 'I hope Briar's okay,' Dylan said, standing and getting a better view of her current trap._

_ 'I had hoped to carve you up,' Freddy's voice said, ringing from every direction. Dylan covered her eyes with her hand and groaned._

_ 'I fucking knew it,' Dylan said. Freddy chuckled, the sound no longer disembodied. Dylan __turned to where the sound came from and aimed her shot gun. Freddy stepped forward and ripped it out of her grip, flinging it over the railing to plummet to the bottom of the factory. Freddy laughed again._

_ 'There's nothing you can do here, and you aren't welcome here anymore, so you have two choices,' Freddy said. He raised one claw, 'You can be killed, or,' Freddy raised a second claw, 'you can leave and never come back.' Dylan was confused by the offer._

_ 'What, am I no fun anymore?' she asked. Freddy laughed again._

_ 'I got what I wanted, I don't need you anymore,' Freddy said. Dylan stood up straighter and look him right in the eyes._

_ 'Good God, you're short,' Dylan said, unable to control her mouth. Freddy glared at her. 'Sorry, not what I meant to say,' Dylan tried to amend. 'What I wanted to say, before my brain so rudely interrupted, was, WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN?' Dylan screamed at him. Freddy backed off, not used to the sudden out burst._

_ 'Briar has agreed to stay with me, for your safety,' Freddy said. He stalked up to her and grasped her throat in his non-clawed hand. 'But what she doesn't know, won't bother her.' He squeezed and lifted Dylan off the ground, her feet swinging beneath her, trying to find purchase. One of her feet hit Freddy's leg, and Dylan was going to use whatever she got. She put a slight amount of weight onto it and brought her other foot up, catching him in the ribs. Freddy flew backwards a few feet and Dylan landed back on the catwalk._

_ 'Oh yeah, I forgot about that,' Dylan said. She imagined her shotgun back in her hands and when she opened her eyes, there it was. She shot at Freddy as he stood, and he dispersed. 'YEAH! That's right, BITCH!' Dylan yelled to the space around her. She turned and the image of Briar popped into her head. She felt sick as the world around her swam and she was standing in a dim candle lit room. She looked around at the pink walls, the stuffed animals on shelves, the plush pink bed covers and...Briar in a white dress with pink bows in her hair. Briar looked up and her eyes widened._

_ 'BRIAR, what the HELL?' Dylan asked. Briar's eye narrowed._

_ 'Take a wild fucking guess,' Briar seethed. Dylan could tell she wasn't enjoying this at all. Dylan couldn't help the giggles that made their way up her throat, causing Briar's frown to deepen. 'I'm going to need severe mental help after this,' Briar said. She stood from the bed and as she walked to Dylan, there was a sound of chains rattling._

_ 'Well, I didn't want to take him seriously when he said you had agreed to stay with him forever,' Dylan said. She looked down at the chain that fastened Briar's ankle to the bed post. 'Remember the dream root though, Bri,' Dylan said. Briar glared at her, then closed her eyes. Dylan watched as her clothes changed into something more Briar like and the chain around her ankle disappeared. 'Nice work, Bri,' Dylan said. Briar grabbed Dylan's arm and ushered her out the door, closing it between them._

_ 'Leave, Dylan, I can't protect you here,' Briar said through the wood. Dylan sighed and leaned her head against the door._

_ 'And you can't protect yourself. We need each other to survive, dude,' Dylan said. Briar opened the door again and whispered to Dylan._

_ 'Then wait here and come after him when I have his back turned,' Briar said, handing Dylan a knife she recognized. Briar closed the door again and Dylan heard Freddy's voice._

_ 'I was going to let your little friend go, but she decided that she would rather stay here and die, so I had to kill her,' Freddy said, his voice cruel. 'What are you wearing?' he asked._

_ 'What I would prefer to wear,' Briar said. Dylan leaned in closer to the door, the conversation going quiet. 'NOW!' Briar screamed suddenly and Dylan flung the door open. She launched forward and plunged the dagger into Freddy's back, over his heart. He gave out a scream and his body turned to ash._

_ The next thing Dylan knew, she was floating outside her body. She looked over at Briar, her white, transparent form floating just outside hers, her eyes still closed._

Dylan sat up, shock running through her, her heart pumping at a speed she didn't think was possible. She looked up above her at the place where she had last been, then up over Briar's still body. "What happened? Where's Briar?" Dylan asked. Dean came up to her and sat on the edge of her bed, his eyes sad.

"She's in a coma," Dean said gently. Dylan's eyes went wide.

"Just use the adrenaline, it's easy," Dylan said, looking between a sad Dean and a guilty looking Sam standing on the other side of Briar's bed. It was then that she realized that Sam was holding the broken container of adrenaline meant for Briar. "No, no, please tell me, no," Dylan said, tears streaking down her face. She slid off her bed and hugged Briar, her ear to Briar's heart, still beating. "No, Briar, you can wake up now," Dylan sniffled, shaking Briar gently. "Bri, we did it, we killed him, you can wake up now," Dylan cried. She wiped the hair away from Briar's face and sobs wracked their way up her body. She cried over Briar's stomach, and she was vaguely aware of Dean wrapping his arms around her from behind. Dean pulled her up off the ground and set her on the edge of her bed. Dylan turned and buried her head in his shoulder, not wanting to see Briar laying there, still trapped in that eternal sleep.

"Shh, Dylan. We'll find a way to bring her back," Dean said, soothing a hand down Dylan's hair. Dylan didn't stop crying.


	2. Chapter 2

Sam sat down on the edge of Briar's bed and leaned over her to put the broken vial on the bedside table.

"Is there any way we can get more of that? Where did you two get it?" Sam asked. Dylan sniffled and turned her head to stare at Sam.

"Briar nicked it at the hospital when I was getting stitches in my cheek," Dylan said quietly. Sam bowed his head.

"I'm sorry Dylan, this is all my fault," Sam said. Dylan stood and walked around the bed to hug Sam.

"It's not your fault, just a mistake," Dylan said, clutching at his shirt as she stared at her friend. Briar's face twitched, moved just an inch, her expression changing. Dylan sat up, away from Sam and pointed. "She moved," Dylan said, her tears forgotten. Dylan moved up and took Briar's hand. "Briar, if you can hear me, smile," Dylan said. Briar didn't move. Dylan frowned at her. "Difficult," Dylan said. She leaned forward, closer to Briar. "Briar, if you hear me, you bitch, you better freaking smile," Dylan said, putting as much threat into her voice as she could. Still no movement from Briar. Dylan scoffed and dropped her hand, moving to pace the hotel room. "What about Cass, can he bring her out?" Dylan asked. Dean looked over at Sam, who shrugged.

"There's no telling if he'll even show up," Dean said. Dylan continued to pace, a hand pressed to her forehead. She stopped and looked up at the ceiling.

"Castiel, you ass, you better get down here," Dylan called up. She waited for a few minutes with no response. "Cass! Get your ass down here so you can save Briar from a freaky psychopathic dream killer!" Dylan tried again. This time, the sound of wings made them all turn back to the bed with Briar in it. "Oh thank God," Dylan breathed out.

"God had nothing to do with it," Castiel said, his eyes on Briar. He looked up at Dylan, confused. "She looks like she's sleeping fine," Cass said. Dylan rolled her eyes.

"She's trapped in a coma, stupid. _Fix her_," Dylan growled at him. Castiel turned back to Briar and placed a hand to her forehead.

"I am not sure I can," Castiel said, removing his hand. "There are elements at work here that I do not understand," he explained, turning back to Dylan. Dylan's eyes narrowed and she took a menacing step forward.

"_TRY,_" Dylan said, putting all the anger and hurt in her voice. Castiel nodded and pushed his hands under Briar's body. He moved her over on the bed and took one of her hands in his. He laid down next to her and closed his eyes, pressing her palm between his. "What the hell are you doing? This is not feel Briar up while she's out, day," Dylan said, making to grab Castiel and rip him off the bed. Castiel sat up and locked eyes on Dylan.

"If I am to try, I need to go into her mind to see what's holding her there," Castiel said. Dylan stopped and stood in her place. After a second she waved a hand, motioning for him to continue. Castiel lay back down and closed his eyes again.

_Castiel opened his eyes into a vaguely familiar setting. He looked around the hall and it all came back to him. He was in Briar's house in Montana. 'Briar?' Castiel called out, looking for her. A door down the hall opened and a girl with dark brown hair peeked her head out. She couldn't have been more that thirteen, but she was a dead ringer for Briar._

_ 'Who are you?' the girl asked, still hiding behind the door. Castiel took a few steps closer and knelt down._

_ 'My name is Castiel, you know who I am,' Castiel said. He tried to be as non threatening as he could be. The girl slowly came out from behind the door, but refused to come any closer._

_ 'You sound familiar,' Briar said, her eyes alight with suspicion. 'Are you a demon?' she asked. Castiel shook his head, and managed a smile._

_ 'No, I'm an angel of the Lord,' he said. Briar's mouth twitched up._

_ 'Yeah, right. Angel's don't exist,' she said. Castiel cocked his head to the side, studying her. Briar's eyes were wide and crystal blue as she watched the wings sprout from his back. She reached a hand up and took a step forward to try and reach the feathery white things. Castiel stood and Briar took a few steps back, her back hitting the door jamb behind her._

_ 'It's okay,' Castiel said gently. He stopped when he was in touching distance of her and knelt down, his hands close to himself. He brought one wing around and he watched Briar's eyes light up again. She reached out and stroked the soft wing, smoothing the feathers down._

_ 'You are an angel,' Briar said, her voice quiet, shy. She looked up at Cass through her lashes, a small smile on her face. Castiel held his hand out to her, waiting for her to take it. She looked up at him fully and beamed, her smile making her face glow. She took his hand and Castiel stood. Briar pushed the door open and led him into the room she was in. The walls were white with a slight padding on them, the bed on a basic wood frame also had white covers. There were a few toys on the ground, and a small bookshelf in the corner. The bookshelf was packed tight with various journals that Briar had no doubt filled out herself. Briar sat in the middle of the room and looked up at Castiel expectantly. She had a game board out in front of her, one that Cass didn't recognize._

_ Castiel came and sat across from her none-the-less and smiled at her. 'Have you ever played checkers?' she asked as she set up the board._

_ 'No, I don't know how,' Castiel said, watching her. Briar looked up and Castiel could see the age building in them within seconds._

_ 'Of course you don't Cass. Why would you?' Briar said, her voice older. Castiel looked over her again and realized that he was sitting in front of a fully grown Briar. She continued to set up the game board. 'What are you doing here, Cass?' she asked, her eyes focused down now._

_ 'I'm here to bring you back,' he said. 'By request from Dylan.' Briar frowned._

_ 'Why does she want me back?' Briar asked. 'I'm nothing but a hassle,' she said._

_ 'As far as I know, you're the only family she has,' Castiel countered. Briar looked guilty now._

_ 'I've thought about that. And I tried because of that, but I couldn't go back,' Briar said. 'Dylan,' Briar's voice broke. 'Dylan's just going to have to live without me,' Briar said. Castiel saw tears running down Briar's face. The look was surreal, Briar, dark Briar, sitting in such a bright room with all her emotions on display. He had never seen her so vulnerable. Castiel pushed the game aside and moved to sit next to her, wiping the tears away._

_ 'I'm here to help you find a way out,' Castiel said, his voice soft and quiet, his breath tickling Briar's cheek. Briar looked up at him and smiled. She leaned against him and he wrapped his arms around her. 'You're so different from the way you are in the waking world,' Castiel commented. Briar gave a short laugh._

_ 'Right now, you're seeing me at my most vulnerable. Here, there are no barriers. This is my innocence, or what's left of it,' Briar said. She turned to look Castiel in the eye, their faces less than an inch apart. Briar lean forward and gently placed her lips to his. Before he knew it, Briar was standing and helping him up. 'I know, Cass, that you can't help me. Tell Dylan that I'm not giving up, but I think I have some searching to do,' Briar said. She placed a kiss on his cheek._

Castiel opened his eyes to the hotel ceiling. He looked over at Dylan, who looked close to breaking. "She told me to tell you, that she's not giving up, and that she thinks she has some searching to do," Castiel relayed. He stood and turned back to Briar. Despite the current occupants of the room, Castiel bent over her and placed a kiss to her forehead. He whispered something to her and disappeared. Dylan's eyes widened and she really felt like kicking something. She pushed her hands into her hair and started pacing again.

"What the _hell_ am I going to do now?" Dylan asked no one. Dean stepped in her path and gently pulled her hands away from her hair. He folded them in one of his hands and place the other on her cheek, tilting her head up to look at him.

"All we can do right now is take her to Bobby's. He may have something that could help her,' Dean said. Dylan shook her head and backed away from him.

"No, Cass couldn't help, Bobby won't be able to either," Dylan said, sure in her thoughts.

"Dylan, all we can do right now is take her to Bobby's," Sam said, staying away from Dylan for safety's sake. Dylan stopped pacing, turning to look at Briar still laying motionless on the bed.

"I guess that's fine. It's not like we can stay here," Dylan finally said, agreeing. Sam let out a breath and moved to start packing up Briar's things. Dylan stood there, her eyes on her friend, not bothering to help Dean and Sam gather all their things. She was too concerned with trying to find a way to wake Briar up. As Dean passed her, a few bags slung over his shoulders, the thought came to her. _Crowley_. Dylan closed her eyes and a tear slipped out. She went to the side of Briar's bed and knelt next to her. She grabbed one of Briar's hands and bent to whisper in her ear so that neither Sam nor Dean could hear her.

"Bri, I'm gonna do everything in my power to get you back," Dylan spoke quietly. Briar's muscles flexed causing her hand to grip Dylan's for a second. Tears sprang forth and Dylan pressed her forehead to Briar's arm. "I don't want you to stay like this," Dylan said. She stood when Sam came back in to lift Briar from the bed. As he held her in his arms, Sam looked at Dylan.

"Dean thinks its best that you ride with him and I drive Briar back in the mustang," Sam said. Dylan nodded and followed him out. She unlocked the car for him so he could lay Briar down in the back then she handed off the keys. She slid in next to Dean and leaned her head on the window. Dean started up the car and pulled out, the lights of the mustang in the rear-view mirrors.

"Get some sleep babe, it's going to be a long ride," Dean said, messaging Dylan's knee. She nodded and yawned, tucking her arm up under her head for comfort and drifted off into what was for once, a restful, albeit, troubling sleep.

‡

_ Briar took her time going down the stairs, the memories of this house washing over her. 'Dylan, I am so sorry,' Briar said. She watched the faded memories run past her, the times when they would throw parties here for their neighbors. She smiled when the door opened and Dylan stood there, cold and wet from the rain, her bag on her shoulder, the beginning of all this that Briar had lived, the beginning of Briar's good memories. Briar sat down on the bottom step and watched the ghosts of her memories pass her, playing out around her._

_ 'You'll never be able to escape,' a deep voice said, causing Briar to turn. She grew angry at the site of his sweater, his hat, his claw._

_ 'You broke me?' Briar asked, her temper raising. He laughed and turned, and Briar's face stared back at her, before flashing back to Freddy._

_ 'No, he did that, but he's dead now,' Briar's own voice drifted to her ears and she watched the face turn back into hers, the only thing remaining of Freddy was the claw. 'I'm your darkness,' she said. Briar stepped forward, curious._

_ 'So what am I supposed to do? Fix myself?' Briar asked, rolling her eyes. The dark part of Briar laughed._

_ 'That would be a good guess,' she answered. Briar sighed, her eyes going over dark Briar. 'You know, this is going to get confusing eventually, just call me DB,' she said. Briar sighed and nodded._

_ 'So, DB,' Briar said, trying out the name. 'How am I supposed to fix myself?' DB rolled her eyes and shrugged._

_ 'Hell if I know,' she said. Briar sighed again and held out her hand._

_ 'Follow me then. If I'm supposed to put all the pieces back together, I need to find them first, and you're the first piece,' Briar said. When DB touched Briar, she turned into a glowing ball of dark light. Briar bent to pick it up and stared at it in her hand. 'So much for pleasant conversation,' Briar said and turned back to the door, sticking the orb in a bag that was slung over her the banister. 'Convenient,' Briar said, pulling the bag over her shoulder. Briar turned back to the door, her mind now set in what she had to do. The only problem now, was finding and putting together all the pieces of her._

Sam lay Briar down gently on the mattress in one of Bobby's spare rooms. He arranged her in a comfortable position then pulled the blankets up to cover her. Dylan pulled a plush chair up next to the bed and sat in it, her eyes going to the window that showed it was day. Hers and Briar's sleeping schedule were so screwed up by trying to avoid Freddy, that she was surprised that she was even remotely awake during the day.  
"Dylan," Dean's voice broke Dylan's thoughts. She turned to look at him, waiting for him to speak. "You need some rest," he said. Dylan shook her head and turned back to Briar.

"No, I'm not leaving her,' Dylan said. Dean sighed and moved over to her.

"Sammy can watch over her," Dean said, kneeling down next to the chair. Dylan shook her head again. Dean stood up, and when Dylan thought he was about to leave, he grabbed her and lifted her in the air, draping her over his shoulder and carried her out of the room. Sam slipped in after they left and took a seat by the mattress. Him and Dean had agreed that they should try to bring Briar out themselves while they distracted Dylan from her constant worrying. Sam leaned over Briar and pulled a stand of hair from her head and dropped it into the mug he had carried in with him.

"Bottom's up," Sam said and sat down before he drank the liquid.

_Sam found himself in a large field, trees growing in a circle around the area. Briar stepped through on one side and stopped when she saw him. 'What, are you my strength?' Briar asked. Sam smiled and shook his head._

_ 'No, Briar, it's Sam,' Sam said. Briar rolled her eyes at him._

_ 'Well, I can see that,' Briar commented, closing the distance to stand a few short steps away from him. She crossed her arms and looked up into his eyes. 'What are you doing here?' Briar asked. Sam smiled at her and wrapped his arms around her._

_ 'It's so good to see you,' Sam breathed into her hair. Briar patted him on the back._

_ 'Well, I think I know how you got here. I assumed Dylan would come in after me first though,' Briar said. Sam stepped back and rubbed the back of his neck._

_ 'Well, Dean is kinda distracting her,' Sam said sheepishly. Briar snorted and when Sam looked her in the eyes, she was rolling them._

_ 'Something I didn't want to know,' Briar said. Sam laughed with her._

_ 'It's so good to hear your voice, to see you up and walking around,' Sam said. He looked around himself. 'Even if it is in a dream world.' Briar smiled at him and took his hand._

_ 'And it's good to see you Sammy. You have no idea how boring it can get when you only have yourself to talk to,' Briar said. At this, Sam arched an eyebrow. Before he could ask, another Briar stepped out of the forest and into the clearing. When his eyes landed on her, she flinched._

_ 'Is that?' Sam asked, afraid of the answer._

_ 'My fear,' Briar answered for him. She turned back to the other girl and approached her slowly. She held out her hand and Briar's fear touched it, instantly turning into a ball of glowing yellow light._

_ 'What was that?' Sam asked, stepping up to Briar, who held the orb in her hand._

_ 'This is what happens when I touch the bits of myself that I find,' Briar said. 'This is what I have to do before I can wake up,' Briar explained. Sam shook his head, not understanding. Briar smiled at him. 'Before he died, Freddy did something to me in the dream world that,' Briar paused, thinking of the word she wanted to use, 'broke me.' Sam nodded. 'I have to find all the pieces of myself before I can wake up and go back to normal,' Briar said._

_ 'And what all have you found?' Sam asked._

_ 'My darkness and my fear, and right now, you're staring at my innocence,' Briar said. She smiled up at him. 'Innocence is the center of me, isn't that odd?' she asked. Sam laughed with her and placed an arm over her shoulders._

_ 'Do you mind if I help you a bit?' Sam asked. Briar shrugged, placing the orb gently in the bag._

_ 'I guess I don't have a choice. You're here on dream root, and you can't wake up until it wears off,' Briar said. She moved out from under Sam's arm and tucked her arm under his, hugging it to her chest and leaning her head on his shoulder._

_ 'So where do we go?' Sam asked. Briar looked up and around them._

_ 'This is the third place I've been, and I'm not sure if I remember this place or not, but in every place I go, there's a part of me,' Briar said. Sam looked around as well._

_ 'So we find another you, and you touch them and they turn into orbs for easy transport?' Sam asked, clarifying._

_ 'Well, my darkness first appeared as Freddy, and my fear showed up as my childhood nanny, so,' Briar said._

_ 'And you thought I was your strength?' Sam asked. Briar nodded and looked up at him. 'Why strength?' Sam asked. Briar tucked her face into Sam's arm, embarrassed._

_ 'Because, Sammy, I lean on you for so many things, and you never seem to waver,' Briar said. 'To me, you are the extra strength I need.' Sam smiled down at her and gripped her hand in his._

_ 'Then I'll be your temporary strength,' Sam said. Briar squeezed his hand and pulled him to the edge of the forest._

_ 'Lets go on, the more I walk, the more likely I am to find another piece of me,' Briar said. She began walking through the forest with Sam's hand clasped tightly in hers._

Dylan sat up from the bed, sure now that Dean had gone to sleep. She lifted his arm carefully and slid away from him. She watched him for a second before turning and heading out the door. She walked past Briar's room, not wanting to be seen by Sam and directly down the stairs. She ran into Bobby on her way out the door.

"Where are you going?" Bobby asked. Dylan sighed and rubbed her eyes.

"I couldn't sleep, so I thought I would go and get some fresh air," Dylan said, looking Bobby directly in the eyes.

"Alright," Bobby said, and moved out of the way, watching her as she went past him. Dylan muttered a small thank you and walked out onto the lot. Dylan walked between the beaten cars, looking in some of the windows. By the time she got to the middle of the lot, sure that Bobby couldn't see her from the windows, she stopped. She turned a circle and sighed.

"Crowley, I don't care if you hate me or not, but I'd really like to talk to you right now," Dylan called out. She leaned against the nearest car, waiting.

"What could you ever want to talk to me about?" Crowley asked, stepping in Dylan's line of vision.

"How well do you keep tabs on Briar?" Dylan asked. Crowley furrowed his brows.

"Not very well, she calls me when she needs me," Crowley said. Dylan bent her head and stuffed her hands into her jeans pockets.

"Briar's in a coma," Dylan said. When she looked back up at Crowley, his face was schooled, calm.

"And what did you expect me to do about that?" Crowley asked. Dylan lowered her eyes again.

"I wanted you to bring her out of it," Dylan said. She heard Crowley let out a sarcastic laugh.

"I can't do anything I want to. There are rules attached to being a demon," Crowley said. Dylan glared up at him.

"I know that," Dylan said. Crowley paused.

"What, are you offering me your soul?" he asked. Dylan frowned at him.

"I'm offering whatever it takes," Dylan said. Crowley tilted his head.

"And what if I can't bring her out of it, you're out one soul," he countered. Dylan shrugged.

"That's why, I'm not going to make a deal with you until I know whether or not you can do it," Dylan said. Crowley smiled at her.

"That's not how it works, sweetheart," he said. Dylan let her breath out.

"If you can't guarantee what I want, then you don't get my soul," Dylan said. She started walking away.

"Wait," Crowley called. Dylan turned to hear him out. "I'll go in, assess the damage, then get back to you," he said. Dylan nodded an turned back to walk away. "I can't go in until the moose comes out," Crowley added. Dylan stopped.

"I'll take over his shift," Dylan said. Crowley walked up to her and stood in front of her.

"Not what I meant. Sam, at this very moment, is in Briar's mind with her," Crowley said. Dylan's eyes narrowed.

"Then I have business to attend to," Dylan said, and left Crowley behind, storming in to the house and up the stairs. She flung Briar's door open and looked at Sam slumped over the mattress, his head resting on his folded arms as he slept. Dean stepped in and wrapped his arms around Dylan's waist, pulling her away from Sam.

"He took some dream root, he's not going to wake up until it wears off," Dean said, trying to calm Dylan down. Dylan stopped, and turned to Dean.

"You _knew_?" she screamed at him. Dean took a step back and held his hands up.

"Dylan, I didn't want you to worry yourself sick. You would've stayed up day and night until Briar woke up," Dean said. He approached slowly, unsure of how Dylan would react to him. Dylan backed up into the chair. She really didn't want to be near Dean right now. She glared at him and pushed past him, finding an empty room and locking herself in.

"How could they have not told me?" Dylan asked herself. She put her head in her hands and cried.

Dean was left standing in the doorway to Briar's room, looking down at Sam who was hopefully helping Briar out of whatever she was in. He could only hope that this would work.

_Briar let go of Sam's hand as she pushed further forward, coming to a stop in another clearing. Briar smiled back at Sam and waved him forward, taking his hand again when he was withing reach. Sam laid eyes on the girls' mustang, the paint gleaming and seemingly fresh. 'This is where my strength should be,' Briar said. Sam looked over at her._

_ 'What makes you think that?' Sam asked. Briar led him up the the mustang and she placed her hand on the hood._

_ 'Because this car, it's my connection to you, to Dylan, even to Dean. This is the only solidity I have now that I'm a hunter, and I take strength in that,' Briar said. Sam looked to the mustang and began seeing his brother's love for the impala in a new light. Sam reached out and placed a hand to the roof of the car. The paint felt like it was wet. Sam tried to pull his hand back, but the black paint started to envelope his entire arm, dragging him into the car. He felt Briar let go of his hand and he panicked as he continued to sink. The next thing Sam knew, he was sitting in the passenger seat of the mustang and Briar was looking in at him, smiling from the driver's window. She knocked on the pane of glass and Sam leaned over to roll the window down._

_ 'What just happened?' Sam asked, baffled. Briar's grin widened._

_ 'I knew you were my strength Sammy,' Briar said. She opened the door and got in next to Sam, resting her hands on the wheel. 'I think it's time for you to wake up,' she said, her voice carrying a note of sadness._

_ 'What do you mean?' Sam asked. Briar looked over at him again._

_ 'You're glowing Sam,' Briar said. 'You're my strength and I've found you, now it's time for you to go,' Briar said. Sam nodded and leaned back in the seat._

_ 'Take care, Briar,' Sam said, and turned into a glowing golden orb._

Sam blinked open his eyes, the wall of Briar's room swimming into view. "Sammy?" Dean's voice asked. Sam was filled with an odd sensation, the after affects of the emotions Briar had put off. He turned and looked at Dean.

"I had no idea," Sam said. Dean blinked, unsure of what to say.

"No idea about what?" Dean asked. Sam sat up and turned to Dean.

"At what Briar held inside, buried so deep so that no one would see it," Sam explained. Dean's eyebrows furrowed.

"You didn't bring her back," Dean said. Sam shook his head, a small smile forming on his face.

"She wasn't meant to come back, not yet," Sam said. Dean looked baffled.

"You okay there Sammy?" Dean asked, putting a hand to his brother's forehead.

"Yes, Dean, I'm fine," Sam said, pushing Dean's hand away.

"Dylan's pissed," Dean said, he looked upset by this.

"She found out? How?" Sam asked, looking to the door.

"I guess she just came in here and saw you asleep," Dean said. Sam shook his head.

"I'll go talk to her," Sam said, leaving Dean alone in the room with Briar's still sleeping form.

Sam knocked lightly on the door to the room Dylan had locked herself into. "Go away!" Dylan called. Sam tried the doorknob again and it didn't budge. "It's locked dumb ass, I'm not an idiot," Dylan said. Sam rolled his eyes and pulled his lock picking kit out. As quietly as he could, he picked the lock and pushed the door open. "There was a reason the door was locked, Sam, it means I want to be left the fuck alone!" Dylan screeched when she saw him. Sam looked down at her sadly, wishing he could take away her pain and anger. "Keep staring at me like that, and you'll end up blind for the rest of your life," Dylan seethed.

"I wanted to tell you that Briar's okay," Sam said gently. Dylan stopped in her tracks, turning to glare at him.

"Well she can tell me her own damned self," Dylan said. Sam moved forward and placed his hands on her shoulders, pushing her down to sit on the bed behind her.

"Would it make you feel better if I told you exactly what happened in there?" Sam asked. Dylan was quiet, and after a while she took in a breath to calm herself.

"Maybe," Dylan said. Sam smiled at her.

"Briar's trapped in there, and she's, broken," Sam started. "She said that Freddy did something to her, like, tore her apart, and now she's trying to find all the pieces of herself so she can wake up," Sam said. Dylan sighed and looked down at the floor.

"So, she's trying to come back?" Dylan asked. Sam nodded and rubbed her shoulder.

"She wouldn't just leave you alone unless she had no other choice," Sam said. Dylan looked up at him and leaned forward to hug him.

"Thanks, Sammy. I just wished you had told me," she said. Sam patted her back and they separated. He helped her up and they made their way back to Briar's room.

_Briar continued to sit in the mustang, letting the memories wash over her. 'I was wondering when the moose would leave,' Crowley said. Briar didn't bother turning to look at him._

_ 'And I was wondering when you would show up,' Briar said. She closed her eyes and started the car. When she opened her eyes opened again, there was a road in front of her. 'Any idea on where we're headed,' she asked. Crowley adjusted his jacket around him and looked over at her expectantly._

_ 'You're the one driving, luv,' Crowley said. Briar smiled at the old nickname._

_ 'What would you do if I told the Winchesters just how soft you are,' Briar said. Crowley scoffed._

_ 'You wouldn't dare,' Crowley said, staring out in front of him. Briar cast a glance over at him._

_ 'Wouldn't I?' Briar asked, imitating his accent. Crowley ignored her. 'I recognize this road,' Briar said, changing the subject._

_ 'Yes it does,' Crowley said. Briar glanced over at him then back at the road._

_ 'We're on the road to the mental hospital, aren't we,' Briar said. Crowley was silent, and Briar knew she was right._

Dylan watched Briar's face as it changed into a frown. "What do you think is happening in there?" Dean asked. Dylan looked down at her shoes. She knew what was going on, she just didn't realize that Crowley could get to her from a distance.

"I, uh, talked to Crowley," Dylan said quietly. Dean turned to look at her.

"What did you two talk about?" Dean asked. "You didn't make a deal with him, did you?" Dylan shook her head, grateful that she could tell him the truth about it.

"No, I wanted to let him know how Briar was," she said. When she looked up at him, Dean was confused.

"Why would he care how she is?" Dean asked. Dylan frowned.

"Because Crowley was the only father figure Briar could remember having," Dylan explained. Dean went quiet, his head bowed.

"So, what does this little fact mean?" Dean asked. Dylan moved over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, leaning her head against his shoulder.

"I think Crowley's in there now," Dylan said.

"And you think he's going to help her at all?" Dean asked. Dylan shrugged.

"I think she means something to him, or else he wouldn't even try without making a deal first," Dylan said. Dean rubbed a hand across her back, letting her know that it was all okay.

"I'll talk to him when he's done," Dean said. Dylan heard something in his voice that she couldn't place.

"You leave him alive until I know whether or not he can help her," Dylan said, leaning back to look Dean in the eyes. Dean nodded and leaned forward to place a kiss on her lips.

"Briar comes first," Dean agreed. Dylan smiled at him and kissed him back. "Actually, your health comes first," Dean said, pulling Dylan out of the room. She yawned and followed him out, not bothering to argue with him.

_Briar sighed, shutting the door to the mustang. She glanced over at Crowley who stood on the other side of the car. 'You ready for this, luv?' Crowley asked. Briar sighed and looked up at the building, the view of it different than what she was used to._

_ 'It looks different, deteriorated,' Briar said. Her eyes slid to Crowley._

_ 'It's in your head, this is how you would like to remember it, destroyed,' Crowley said. He walked around the car and reached out for Briar's hand. 'You can't pull yourself together if you don't try,' Crowley said. Briar bent her head_

_ 'You're right,' Briar said. She took his hand and let him led her back to the place where all the bad things in her life started. Briar could feel the fear taking over her as she walked through the halls._

_ 'Here, if I remember correctly,' Crowley said, stopping in front of a door. Briar turned and stared at it, the peeling paint coming back to life and repairing it's self before her eyes._

_ 'This is my room,' Briar said. She pushed the door open and left Crowley in the hall to explore it. She went to the crowded bookshelf in the corner, filled with her journals that she had kept over the years. She pulled one out at random and flipped through the pages._

_ I know now, why I'm here, it's to meet the people that I have, and grow, and learn from the experiences. Mr. Ley is probably my only link to sanity in this place, the only reason I've not gone completely crazy. I can feel it slipping away, and every time, washing back over me when he comes to visit. I can only hope, that when I leave here, and I will, that I will stay in contact with him. He practically raised me, like my real father couldn't, and he's been there for me when I've needed him the most. He is my sanity, my family._

_ Briar snapped the book shut and looked up at Crowley who had moved to the center of the room. 'You're my sanity,' Briar said. Crowley smiled up at her and nodded. He stepped forward and reached out his hand. Briar took it and Crowley did something he had never done for as long as Briar had known him. He hugged her. Both of them were enveloped in a silver light. Crowley whispered his good bye and his form shrank, the glow focusing in on a small silver orb that appeared in Briar's hands. Briar smiled down at it. 'Thank you for keeping me sane,' she said, and placed it in her bag with the others._

Dean took a swig of his beer and leaned against the impala, looking around at all the trashed cars on the lot. He had left Dylan asleep in another spare room and Sam watching over Briar. Bobby was still researching any means to wake Briar from her sleep, and wasn't getting anywhere. "Dean, so good to see you," Crowley said, walking up to him. He had a smug look on his face.

"Where have you been?" Dean asked. Crowley smirked at him.

"In Briar's head. You can tell your girlfriend that there's nothing I, alone, can do to help," Crowley said. Dean looked up at him.

"So you're useless," Dean said.

"And your girlfriend gets to keep her soul. I figured you should be happy about that,' Crowley shot back. Dean took another heavy swig.

"So what are you here for?" Dean asked.

"Dylan wants Briar back, right? Well, the way to get her back, is to collect all the pieces. In order to collect all the pieces, Briar needs to find the people that mean something to her. Well, to do that, those that have not yet visited, need to in order to leave something behind," Crowley said. Dean furrowed his eyebrows.

"What the hell does that mean?" Dean asked. Crowley moved to stand directly in front of Dean.

"It means, pretty boy, that you, Dylan, Bobby, and that pet angel of yours need to go into her dream and see her. She finds the meaning behind each person, and gains that piece of herself back," Crowley said.

"Cass has already been in her head," Dean said. Crowley shook his head.

"He started the search, but he has to appear in the search as well," Crowley said. "Now, since I find it difficult to talk to you, I'll leave you with that," Crowley said, disappearing with his last word. Dean sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Damn cryptic British demon," Dean said, chugging the last of his beer and heading inside.

Dean sat down next to Briar's bed looking down at the cup in his hand with vague disgust. "I really hate this stuff," Dean said aloud. Dylan scoffed from her corner.

"Try choking down a slice of dead man," Dylan shot back, shivering at the thought. Dean hushed all complaints and downed the drink. He looked back at Briar and closed his eyes, only to open them to a completely different place.

_'Dean?' Briar's voice interrupted his thoughts. He turned to see her emerging from an old building, the paint renewing it's self with vigor._

_ 'Where am I?' Dean asked. Briar smirked at him as she stopped next to him. She turned back to watch the process._

_ 'Where I found my sanity and craziness,' Briar explained. She grabbed Dean by the upper arm and dragged him over to the mustang._

_ 'How can you find both in one place?' Dean asked. Briar smiled at him over the top of her car._

_ 'When you're put into a mental hospital without actually being mental,' Briar said._

_ 'You were in a mental hospital?' Dean asked. Briar laughed at him and got in her car, unlocking the passenger door for him._

_ 'You are so behind the times, Dean,' Briar said and started the car as soon as he had shut his door. 'Yes, I was in a mental hospital, yes it drove me crazy, but amongst all of that was a spec of sanity that I nurtured so that I didn't go completely psycho,' Briar explained. Dean choked back his comment and let Briar drive._

_ 'Where are we heading now?' Dean asked. Briar smiled at him._

_ 'Where ever the road takes us,' Briar said, sounding like she knew something he didn't. Dean was completely uncomfortable, being in Briar's mind. She seemed no different than her waking form, but then, Dean had never paid much attention to her._

Dylan sighed and walked out of the room, leaving Dean to sleep and wander around in Briar's head. There was no telling the secrets he would learn. Dylan sat down next to Sam in the library, Bobby behind his desk as always. "So, Dean's gone in?" Sam asked. Dylan nodded, her voice catching in her throat.

"Yeah," she finally managed. She looked over at Sam and he smiled at her. He put his arm on her shoulders and squeezed, making her feel safe.

"There's nothing to be concerned about. Dean's not gonna hurt Briar, and you know that. It's the idea of Briar hurting Dean I'm more enamored with," Sam said. Dylan's eyes grew wide and she turned to Sam again.

"Excuse me?" Dylan asked. Sam smiled, laughing a little.

"I'm kidding, Dylan. You need to relax. Nothing's going to happen to either of them," Sam said, rubbing her shoulder. He pulled his arm back and stood. "How about we go out to get something to eat?" he asked. Dylan looked over at Bobby.

"You two go, I'm fine here," Bobby said, not even looking up at them. Dylan sighed and took Sam's hand.

"What car are we taking?" Dylan asked. Sam smirked at her and held up the keys to the impala, making Dylan actually laugh.

_Dean's eyes landed on the small motel that stood on the side of the road. Briar looked tired of driving, so he pointed it out. She smiled at him, and pulled in to the parking lot. 'Who knew you could get tired in your dreams,' Dean said. Briar rolled her eyes and got out of the mustang, Dean following close behind her._

_ 'I didn't either,' Briar said, knocking on the office door. It swung open revealing an empty room. Briar arched an eyebrow and stepped in. 'There's no one here,' Briar said. She stepped up to the counter and rang the bell, still no answer. Briar rolled her eyes and hopped the counter, grabbing the only available keys left on the hooks and headed out._

_ 'Think that's a good idea?' Dean asked, following her. Briar turned and laughed at him._

_ 'We're in my head, Dean, I doubt we'll get stopped for robbery,' Briar said and continued on. She unlocked the door at the end of the building and walked in, shrugging her jacket off her shoulders._

_ 'So, we're just going to rest here?' Dean asked. Briar walked over and sat in one of the chairs next to a little breakfast table._

_ 'Yeah, pretty much. Maybe talk a little. You're here, which means you have a part of me, I just need to figure it out first,' Briar said. Dean arched an eyebrow._

_ 'What does that mean?' Dean asked. Briar laughed at him again._

_ 'Dean, sit,' she said, pointing to the other chair. He obliged. 'Your brother and Crowley, they've both visited me and when they left, they left something behind,' Briar said, pulling her bag into her lap. She reached in and daintily pulled out a couple of orbs only about two inches in diameter. The colors were vibrant and swirling. One was silver, the other gold. She set the gold one on the table. 'This was what Sam left behind,' Briar said._

_ 'What is that?' Dean asked. Briar smiled at him._

_ 'It's my strength, Dean. Sam is my strength,' Briar explained. Dean nodded and let her continue. 'This one Crowley left behind, this is my sanity,' Briar said again, setting the other one down. Briar pulled out a few more orbs, naming them as she set them down. A dark one, 'My darkness, appeared as Freddy, then myself,' next a yellow one, 'My fear, appeared as my nanny when I was younger,' she showed him an iridescent one, the colors swirling in perfect sync and projecting light on her face, 'My craziness, appeared as my father,' Briar finished. Dean looked at all of them._

_ 'So you think I'm what?' Dean asked. Briar shrugged and put the orbs back into her bag._

_ 'I don't know. I don't really talk to you much, or hang around you as much as Dylan, so I can't really take a guess,' Briar said. Something in Dean's eyes lit up._

_ 'What if it's because I have something to do with Dylan?' Dean asked. Briar's eyebrows surged together and she leaned her head on her hands and perched her elbows on the table, waiting for Dean to explain. 'I have this feeling that I'm only here because of Dylan,' Dean said, looking mystified. Briar cracked a smile._

_ 'Very insightful of you Mr. Winchester. So, what do you feel like you are to me?' Briar asked. Dean mimicked her position._

_ 'Explain how it all happened with Sam and Crowley,' Dean suggested instead. Briar frowned then._

_ 'Well, with Sam, I've always known that I kind of lean on him for certain things. He's my rock when I'm starting to break, so it was easy to tell. With him, I found my car, the only solidity in my life. Crowley, he led me to the mental hospital where I spent more than half my life. He was there with me the entire time, and he was a crutch. So it was easy to tell that he was my sanity. Dean, you're different. I can't really tell where you stand in my life, except that you're my best friend's boyfriend,' Briar said. Dean leaned forward._

_ 'You said you found the only piece of solidity in your life with your strength?' Dean questioned. Briar nodded. 'We're in a hotel, a type of building you spend a lot of your time in, moving from one city to the next. That's the exact opposite of solidity, don't you think?' Dean asked. Briar pondered that for a moment. She nodded after a while._

_ 'So you're saying that you are the exact opposite of Sam?' Briar asked. Dean leaned back in his chair and looked around him._

_ 'I guess so. This doesn't really seem like the strongest of emotions,' Dean said finally. Briar's frown deepened._

_ 'But I don't get the feeling that you're my weakness. Not to mention that people don't ever have just one weakening emotion,' Briar said. Dean smiled at her now._

_ 'So which emotion am I?' he asked her._

_ 'If it has to do with Dylan, I can tell you all my problems with you dating her,' Briar suggested. Dean winced._

_ 'I'd rather not hear them all, but I guess, in order to figure this all out, I have no choice,' Dean said. Briar smirked at him now. 'You're gonna enjoy this, aren't you?' Dean asked, getting a nod from Briar, he groaned._

_ 'Fist of all, you're a horrible person,' Briar started. Dean groaned again and leaned back in his seat. 'You lie, you cheat, you have sex with any woman that would say yes and you by far, don't deserve Dylan.'_

_ 'Okay, I get it, I'm a sleaze-ball,' Dean said. Briar laughed._

_ 'Honestly, I think she's in love with the romantic, emotional vision of you, not you in general. But Dean, after all that, you've actually treated her with respect and what I see to be genuine love after you pulled your head out of your ass,' Briar said. Briar pointed at him, her eyes sparking with emotion. 'You ever hurt her, and you won't live long enough to regret it. Dean, I'm not kidding. Dylan is innocent,' Briar said. Dean's eyes locked on to Briar's._

_ 'I know she's innocent,' he said. Briar frowned._

_ 'She's more innocent than you know, I'm afraid. Unless, of course, you've ruined that,' Briar said. Dean sat up straight._

_ 'What are you telling me?' he asked._

_ 'She's a virgin, Dean. I've protected her this long, I hope to God I'm not making a mistake by letting you get too damn close to her,' Briar told him. Dean looked baffled._

_ 'She's a virgin?' he asked. Briar snorted and sat back._

_ 'You didn't know? Seriously Dean, you're a dumb ass,' Briar said. Dean arched an eyebrow at her and shook his head. Briar drew in a deep breath, 'Dean, you're taking Dylan away from me, and I wasn't ready for that. You're using her, taking away that brand new, innocent shine, and I'm afraid that once she's beaten and battered, and no longer new, you're not going to want her anymore,' she said, tears seeping to her eyes. Dean stood and went to her, hugging her from a kneeling position on the floor. Briar just sat there, not sure of what to do._

_ 'Briar, I promise you, I don't want to hurt Dylan. I'm not going to say that's it's not ever going to happen because we have to be realistic, I'm an idiot and she deserves better. You don't have to be upset over this anymore,' Dean said, trying to sooth the crying girl. Briar sniffled, her eyes locked forward._

_ 'Anguish,' Briar mumbled. Dean leaned back from Briar._

_ 'What?' he asked._

_ 'You're my sadness, my anguish,' Briar said, finally turning to look at him. Dean blinked. He stood back from her. 'Dean, it's time for you to go,' Briar said. She gave him a sad smile before standing, moving towards him, and giving him a hug. When she pulled back, he was glowing a soft violet light._

_ 'Bye, Briar, and good luck,' Dean said, before his form shrank into a purple glowing ball on the floor._

Dean blinked his eyes open and stared down at the still sleeping form of Briar. He sighed and stood, moving to the door. "I'm sorry, Briar," he said, before he made his way downstairs. He looked over at Bobby who was still sitting at his desk. "Where are Dylan and Sammy?" he asked. Bobby looked up at him and frowned.

"They left to get something to eat. Sam's trying to take Dylan's mind off it," Bobby said. Dean nodded and turned to the window, looking out at the lot.

"Where's my car?" Dean asked. Bobby set down his glass of whiskey and looked up at Dean.

"They took it."

"What? Why?" Dean asked, turning back to Bobby.

"Dylan didn't want to go in her mustang because it reminded her of Briar," Bobby said, going back to work. Dean's anger fizzled and his shoulders fell. He turned back to the window.

"Well, I guess since Dylan's not here, it's your turn to help her out," Dean said, leaning against the door frame. Bobby looked up at him and nodded.

"Get me the dream drought," Bobby requested.

_Bobby opened his eyes to his house. He was standing in the middle of his living room looking down on his sleeping body on the couch. Dean sat at his desk, unaware of his presence. 'Bobby?' Briar's voice drifted to his ears._

_ 'Briar? Where are you?' Bobby turned and asked. Briar stepped down the stairs and smiled at him._

_ 'Good to finally see you here,' Briar said. Bobby watched her move towards him and was surprised when she hugged him. 'I don't know what I would do without you, Bobby. You're like a father to me,' Briar said. Bobby reluctantly hugged her back and Briar stepped away from him, a great smile on her face._

_ 'I've never seen you like this,' Bobby told her. Briar stepped past him and up to the bookshelves._

_ 'I've never felt this good.'_

_ 'What's wrong? Why can't you wake up?' Bobby asked. Briar lifted a book off the shelf and flipped the cover open, a frown now present on her face._

_ 'To be honest, I'm not entirely sure. I mean, I feel incomplete, but after we killed Freddy, I don't know what happened,' Briar explained. Bobby moved closer to her, but stayed quiet. 'How's Dylan?'_

_ 'She's fine. She's off with Sam getting something to eat,' Bobby said. Briar frowned._

_ 'Why hasn't she come to see me?'_

_ 'For a while she didn't leave your side,' Bobby said. Briar shook her head._

_ 'Not what I meant, Bobby. I meant in here, in my head,' Briar said as she put the book back. Briar moved to Dean and stared down at him. She watched him swat at something that wasn't there before she moved away and sat in a free chair. 'Do you know what you are?' Briar asked, finally._

_ 'What do you mean?' Bobby asked. Briar sighed and turned to look out the window._

_ 'You mean something to me, and I need to find out what that is,' Briar explained. Bobby sat down in the empty chair next to her._

_ 'You just told me that I'm like a father to you, wouldn't that be it?' Bobby asked. Briar shook her head._

_ 'As much as I hate to admit it, you are not the only father figure in my life, just the most prominent one,' Briar said._

_ 'Who's the other one?' Bobby asked. Briar looked guilty now._

_ 'You don't really want to know that,' Briar said. Bobby put a hand on her knee and gave her a comforting squeeze._

_ 'You can tell me anything, Briar. I've been through so much crap with Sam and Dean, but you and Dylan never seem to lay your troubles on me,' Bobby explained. Briar smiled at him._

_ 'Because Sam and Dean are chicken shit and can't handle their own problems,' Briar commented. She sighed and looked to the ceiling. 'Crowley practically raised me, so he's like a father to me,' Briar admitted. Bobby didn't know what to say. 'See? It's complicated.'_

_ 'What was Crowley to you? Dean told me he went into your head,' Bobby asked. Briar tilted her head, thinking._

_ 'My sanity,' Briar said. 'Sam was my strength, and Dean was my anguish,' she continued to explain. Bobby nodded and looked around him. Briar let out a laugh. 'I think I know,' she said._

_ 'What?' Bobby asked. Briar stood up and moved to a bookshelf._

_ 'You sit here everyday and take calls. You provide information to us when we don't know what we're up against. Bobby, you're my smarts,' Briar said. She pointed at the shelves around her. 'You learn from books,' she sounded excited. Bobby stood up and looked around him._

_ 'So I'm your intelligence?' Bobby asked. Briar nodded, a huge smile on her face._

_ 'And I think I'm one step closer to waking up, now. Thanks, Bobby,' Briar said walking back to him. The closer she got, the more Bobby began to glow a soft blue light. 'I'd like for my journey to keep me here for a while longer, but I doubt that will happen,' Briar said. She hugged Bobby and the glow grew to it's maximum._

_ 'Good bye Briar. I will see you soon,' Bobby said before he turned into a glowing blue orb._

Bobby jerked awake and looked at the spot he was just standing with Briar, dumbfounded. "You okay Bobby?" Dylan asked. Bobby turned to stare into the kitchen to see Sam and Dylan sitting at the table, each had a beer in their hands.

"When did you two get back?" Bobby asked, rubbing his eyes. He stood from the couch and went to the doorway.

"We've been back for a few minutes," Sam said, getting up and getting Bobby a beer. "Dean's gone out to get himself something to eat now. I take it you were just with Briar?" Bobby turned back to stare into the living room.

"Yeah. Who else needs to go in?" Dylan looked down at her beer bottle.

"I wanted to go last," Dylan said. Sam put a hand on her arm and she looked up at him. "Get Cass to go in." Dylan stood and exited the room, heading upstairs. Bobby and Sam turned to look at one another.

"She's still upset about it," Sam said. Bobby wiped his hand across his face.

"I can see why. It's weird talking to her while she's not really here," Bobby said. He sat down at the chair that Dylan just vacated. Sam nodded, understanding where Bobby was coming from.

"What were you?" Sam asked. Bobby took a swig of his beer.

"Intelligence." Sam looked down at the table.

"I think I'm going to go check on Briar," Sam said and he stood, tipping his bottle at Bobby. Bobby nodded at him and stared down at the table. He didn't know what to do with the girls. They kept to themselves. They were so different than Sam and Dean, but so similar too. When they asked for something, they thanked him. They would greet him warmly and ask him if he needed anything. But at the same time, they didn't call just to complain about each other. Bobby scratched his head and took another swig of his beer. What was he going to do with Briar now? Was she ever going to wake up?

Sam sat by Briar's side, her hand in his. "I'm so sorry, Bri. This is all my fault. If I had caught that vial, you'd be awake now," Sam said. He felt horrible for being the cause of all this. He didn't know what came over him when Dean had quickly tossed the vial of adrenaline to him. He could remember it in slow motion as if it was happening that very second. He wanted to do everything he could to help Briar wake up as soon as possible. "Cass? Castiel!" Sam called. The tell tale fluttering told him that Castiel had shown.

"What is it, Sam?" he asked, walking around to the opposite side of the bed. He looked down at Briar's still form. Sam sighed, his eyes on Briar as well.

"Dean said that you need to go back in there," Sam said, pointing a finger at Briar's head.

"There's nothing I can do, I've already told you," Castiel explained. Sam frowned and shook his head.

"She needs you, Cass." Castiel looked from Sam back to Briar and sighed.

"I'll do it for her," he said and bent to shift her body over to give room for himself. Sam lay Briar's hand back down and stood to leave. "Thank you for calling me," Castiel said before Sam left the room. He took her hand in his and lay down next to her, and drifted into her unconsciousness easily.

_ Briar found herself sitting in a soft white expanse, of which she had never experienced before. The light was comforting, soothing, and she didn't want to leave it. 'Briar,' Castiel's calm voice drifted to her ears. She looked up and he emerged from the whiteness, looking the same as he ever had._

_ 'Castiel,' Briar said, calming even more. 'Where am I?' He smiled at her and reached down to help her up. It was then that Briar realized that she was wearing a long elegant white gown._

_ 'Heaven,' Castiel said. Briar was confused._

_ 'I, I thought I was just in a coma,' Briar said. A tear streaked to her eye and fell down her cheek. Castiel wiped it away with his thumb._

_ 'It's still only a coma. This is what you perceive as heaven,' Castiel explained. Briar looked around her._

_ 'Kinda boring for heaven, don't you think?' Briar asked. She took Castiel's hand and moved in one direction. Castiel stopped and turned Briar to face him and wrapped his arms around her. Briar was surprised by his sudden emotion towards her. When he pulled away, Briar was standing in her old room in the mental institution. She groaned and looked to the ceiling. 'Okay, not my ideal heaven,' Briar said, turning back to Castiel. He put his finger to her lips and turned her attention to the door to the room._

_ In a matter of seconds, Dylan entered, giggling. She was only six years old and so happy. A little Briar followed after her, both girls jumping up on the bed. Briar remembered this. This was the first time that Dylan had come to see her. Briar smiled as it the joy washed through her, the warmth and peace, and calm. She was cherished by Dylan, looked up to despite her faults._

_ Castiel reached out to Briar again and this time, Briar buried her face in Castiel's shoulder. He kissed the side of her head and pulled away. They were still standing in the same room, Briar's room in the hospital, and a teenaged Briar and Dylan sat on the floor, their eyes on the screen in front of them._

_ 'He's so sexy!' Dylan said, burring her face in her knees. Both Briars rolled their eyes as the image of Dean left the screen._

_ 'I am an angel of the Lord,' Castiel's voice came from the TV._

_ 'Season four!' older Briar chirped. She sat down beside herself and watched with them._

_ 'What is going on?' Castiel asked, turning to watch himself on the TV. Briar giggled up at him._

_ 'This is when I first saw you. Dyl and I watched a whole marathon of Supernatural until I was caught up,' Briar explained from the floor. Castiel moved to crouch by Briar and smiled at her. Again, Briar felt an overwhelming sense of security and warmth. Briar hugged Castiel again and this time, when they moved apart they were standing in the foyer of Briar's house in Montana._

_ Briar turned to the door when a knock sounded and she herself came down the stairs. Dream Briar looked out the side windows before quickly throwing her door open. Dylan stood there, drenched to the bone with a bag slung over her shoulder and a harsh bruise on her cheek._

_ 'What happened?' Briar asked frantically, pulling Dylan into the house. Mixed in with the rain were tears streaking down Dylan's cheeks._

_ 'I couldn't take it anymore, Bri. H-he hit me," Dylan managed. She dropped her bag on the ground and hugged Briar. Briar held on to Dylan tightly, rocking her back and forth._

_ 'He won't find you here. You can stay as long as you need to,' Briar said. Dylan nodded into her shoulder, still reeling from the attack. Briar broke from Dylan and picked up her bag. She led Dylan up the stairs and to a bedroom. Castiel turned to Briar to find a tear making a path down her cheek. He wiped it away and kissed her forehead. Briar closed her eyes._

_ 'That was when Dylan started living with me,' Briar explained. Castiel nodded and moved to brush Briar's dark hair away from her face._

_ 'Do you see the link between these memories?' Castiel asked. Briar looked to the floor and shook her head, moving Castiel's hands with it. 'We should continue, then.' He kissed Briar's forehead again and when she opened her eyes, she was in a hotel room. She saw Sam sitting on one of the beds with her laptop on his lap. Dream Briar exited the bathroom, a towel on her head and she sat down next to Sam._

_ 'Did you find anything?' she asked. Sam shook his head._

_ 'I've got nothing. What do you think?' Sam asked. Briar leaned over and pressed her shoulder against Sam's, peering at the laptop._

_ 'Nope, not going to work.'_

_ 'You want to find something for him then?' Sam asked. Briar smirked and snatched the laptop from him. She surfed for a few seconds before handing it back. 'I can't believe it. It's perfect.'_

_ 'How is it that I know him better than you do?' Briar asked. Sam wrapped an arm over her shoulders, knocking the towel off her head. The door to the hotel room opened and Dean walked in, Dylan behind him._

_ 'We got the food!' Dylan chirped. Briar shut the lid to the laptop quickly and smiled innocently at them._

_ 'What's with the suspicious looks?' Dean asked, raising an eyebrow at Briar and Sam's closeness._

_ 'I don't know what the hell you're talking about, Dean,' Briar said. Dylan rolled her eyes at them and set the food on the table and dug in to find hers, ignoring everyone else._

_ 'Whatever, dude. We passed a bar not far from here, I think I'm going to hang out there for a while,' Dean said, turning back to the door. Briar watched Dylan frown._

_ 'Hey, Dean. At least take Dylan with you,' Sam suggested. Dean turned to look at Dylan, then at Briar and Sam still sitting together on the bed._

_ 'Alright, I get it. C'mon, Dyl. Let these kids have fun,' Dean said. Dylan popped up and followed after Dean, waving at Briar before she disappeared out the door again._

_ "Oh SAMMY!' Briar shouted at the door as soon as it was closed. Sam's eyes widened and he slapped a hand over Briar's mouth. Briar couldn't help the laughs that bubbled out around Sam's hand. The door opened again and Dean peaked around the wood._

_ 'Use a condom, will you Sammy?' Dean said, then disappeared again. Sam was horrified by this. Briar moved Sam's hand away from her mouth and let out full on laughs, unable to help herself._

_ Castiel turned to Briar, a confused look on his face. 'What was that?' he asked. Briar couldn't help the surge of warmth that washed over her as she stared at Castiel._

_ 'That, is what I call the first petals of a budding family,' Briar said. She moved to embrace Castiel, moving her arms under his coats and resting her palms on his back. 'Sam and I have a very open and special relationship.' Castiel glanced from Sam and Briar on the bed to Briar standing in front of him. Castiel embraced Briar again and when they parted, they were outside of Bobby's house watching Briar standing in the rain by her car._

_ 'Briar.' It was Dean's voice that had called out to her. He walked out with a couple of beers in his hand._

_ 'What do you want, Dean?' Briar asked. Dean leaned against the mustang and looked up to the sky._

_ 'To talk. Dylan said you didn't take the news too well,' Dean said, offering her one of the beers. Briar stared down at his peace offering for a few minutes before taking the bottle, opening it and taking a swig._

_ 'You have five minutes.' Briar's eyes were elsewhere, but Dean sensed he had her full attention._

_ 'Look, it took me a while to realize it, but I do like Dylan,' Dean said. Briar bent her head to stare at her boots, the soles of them caked with mud. 'I didn't think I had to ask for your blessing before I started dating her,' Dean added. Briar sighed._

_ 'You don't.'_

_ 'Look, I'm sorry you're mad at me for whatever reason,' Dean said. Briar shook her head._

_ 'I'm not mad at you, Dean. You make her happy,' Briar said, finally looking up at him. Dean nodded and drank his own beer._

_ 'Then what's wrong?' Dean asked. Briar took another swig, thinking._

_ 'She's delicate,' Briar began. She turned to Dean, her eyes focused on him, nothing but dead seriousness set in them. 'She takes some things way too seriously, and sometimes, that can get her hurt.' Dean nodded and waited for her to continue. 'I don't want to see her hurt, Dean, and you now have the power to do that,' Briar admitted._

_ 'I won't hurt her,' Dean said. Briar's eyes narrowed._

_ 'You can't promise that. You don't know what your actions, your selfishness will do to her.' Dean stood there quietly. 'Dean, I think of you as a brother, I do, but,' Briar trailed off. She shook her head. 'If you break her heart, Dean, that's all I'm saying.' Dean looked to the ground._

_ 'Got it,' he said Briar turned to lean back against her car, her eyes up to the sky as the drizzle stopped. Dean leaned back against the mustang beside her and put his arm over her shoulder, earning a glare from Briar. 'I think of you as family too.' Briar let herself smile and playfully jabbed Dean in the side. Dean bumped her with his hip, causing the two of them to laugh._

_ Briar smiled sweetly at the scene, tilting her head._

_ 'I think there's one more memory to go,' Castiel said. Briar turned back to him and nodded. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her forehead to his. She closed her eyes for a second, and when she opened them, she was in an unoccupied hotel room._

_ 'I don't get it,' Briar said. Castiel took a few steps away from her and turned to face the door. He squared his shoulders and turned his head to the side, watching her from the corner of his eye._

_ 'You don't understand, Briar. I have rules I have to follow,' Castiel said. Briar's eyes widened. She remembered this._

_ 'What rules?' she asked, by pure instinct as the memory surfaced._

_ 'I'm not supposed to,' Castiel broke off, trying to find the words. 'To feel this way.' Briar was stunned._

_ 'What way?' she asked, her voice quiet. Castiel turned to her then, casting the full power of those watery blue orbs on her._

_ 'Briar, I love you.' Briar blinked repeatedly, trying to make the tears disappear._

_ 'Why didn't you tell me sooner?' she felt the word tumbling out of her mouth now. She knew what Castiel was to her. She didn't understand the warm, peaceful feeling up until this moment in her life. She knew she cared deeply about those around her, but Castiel was the first one that she loved more than anything. Castiel took those steps back, closing the distance between them._

_ 'I'm not supposed to feel this way. I'm not supposed to question my orders.' Castiel put his hands up to cradle her face, wiping the tears seeping out of Briar's eyes away with his thumbs. 'You are the most beautiful creation I have ever seen in the long years of my life. Your emotions are like a,' he paused to find the word, 'roller-coaster, but each one is as inspiring as the next.' Briar raised one of her hands to place over his. 'I wouldn't change anything about you, ever.' Castiel leaned forward and pressed his lips gently to hers, testing the experience. He pulled back. 'I never knew love tasted like salt,' he said. Briar let out a weak chuckle. She wiped her eyes and threw her arms around Castiel's neck._

_ 'I love you too, Castiel,' Briar said just before she pressed her lips to his, putting behind it all her emotions. Briar was flooded with warmth and even through her closed lids, she could see the pink glow emanating from him. Briar pulled back but kept her arms locked around Castiel. 'You are my love.' With that, Castiel's form turned into a lightly glowing pink orb cradled gently in Briar's hands._

Castiel opened his eyes and turned to look at Briar. He sat up and kissed her forehead before standing completely. He was no longer needed. He made his way down the stairs where Dean, Sam and Bobby sat, waiting.

"So?" Sam asked, looking up at him as he entered. Castiel's eyes were focused on the ground.

"I did what I could," Castiel said and disappeared, leaving them baffled.

"What next?" Dean asked, turning to the other two.

"Dylan has to go in now," Bobby said. Dean hung his head and put a hand over his eyes.

"I don't think she wants to. The pain is overwhelming her," Sam said. The three of them nodded.

"So how do we get her to go into her best friend's comatose mind?" Dean asked. Neither of them could think of anything other than underhanded schemes, which they did not want to try. Maybe if they gave Dylan time, she would come to terms with it, and go in on her own. "I'm going to go check on Dylan," Dean said and stood. "Maybe I can talk her into it."

"Dylan?" Dean called as he knocked softly on the door. He opened it and peered his head around only to find her asleep on her bed. Dean smiled and shut the door quietly, leaving Dylan to her rest.

_Briar sat in the middle of her bed at Bobby's house, waiting. Dylan should be visiting her soon, or at least she hoped she would. Briar looked down at herself still dressed in the flowing elegant white gown. She curled her toes in the blankets and looked around her. She could see and hear everything that was happening. She had already been downstairs to see Dean, Sam and Bobby talking and then she went to Dylan's room and found her asleep, meaning that Dylan should be there. Briar frowned and hugged her knees to her chest, resting her chin on them. She wanted to wake up now, but to do that, she had to see Dylan._

_ Briar looked over to her bag sitting next to her, the one that held the different parts of her and frowned. With nothing else to do, she reached in to pull one out. As she did this, the dark orb fell out out, rolled off the bed and hit the floor. It cracked in half, sending a plume of smoke up into the air. 'Uh-oh,' Briar said, moving off the bed, taking the bag with her. She crouched behind the bed and watched a figure rise into the air, the haunting laugh echoing around her. When the smoke cleared, Freddy stood there, his gaze focused on her._

_ 'It's good to be back,' he said, laughing. Briar growled and stood._

_ 'You are not real!' she shouted at him, causing him to laugh louder. He moved forward, placing his knee on the bed between them._

_ 'I'm more real than you can ever believe.' Briar shook her head and moved away from him._

_ 'We killed you,' Briar said, her voice faltering. Freddy laughed again._

_ 'Not in my world, you didn't. It's impossible to kill me.' He moved back and turned away from her. 'Lets have some fun, shall we?' Freddy asked and moved out into the hall. Briar grabbed her bag and launched over the bed to follow him. She caught him disappearing into Dylan's room and Briar's heart skipped a beat._

_ 'No,' Briar breathed out and followed after him. She stood in the doorway to Dylan's room, watching Freddy pose over Dylan's unconscious form. 'You FUCKER!' Briar yelled at him. 'You leave her alone,' she warned. Freddy laughed again and bent further over Dylan._

_ 'Follow me if you can,' Freddy said, and disappeared into Dylan's head. Briar shot into action and dove in after him._

_ 'Dylan?' Briar called. The darkness was overwhelming and she couldn't see her hand in front of her face, let alone where she was._

_ 'Briar? What are you doing here?' Dylan's voice asked. Briar turned around and saw her standing in a hall, her head peering out of her bedroom door at they're old house._

_ 'Dylan?' Briar asked. The other girl nodded her head, her gaze confused. Briar let out a breath of relief and smiled. 'It's good to see you,' Briar said. Dylan raised and eyebrow and stepped out into the hall._

_ 'I thought you were in a coma,' Dylan said. Briar let out a short laugh._

_ 'I am.' This just confused Dylan more._

_ 'What are you doing here?' Dylan asked. Briar moved closer to Dylan and hugged her._

_ 'We're in your head,' Briar said. Dylan frowned and moved away from Briar._

_ 'How?' Dylan asked. Briar looked down at the ground, unwilling to answer. 'Briar, how did you get in here?'_

_ 'I followed,' Briar started. She really didn't want to admit that Dylan was in danger._

_ 'Followed who?'_

_ 'Freddy.' Dylan blinked, stunned by the information._

_ 'Freddy? He's here? In my head?' Dylan asked. Briar nodded, not looking up at Dylan. "Wh-why did you? I thought we killed him!"_

_ 'I thought so too,' Briar admitted. Briar moved silently through the house, Dylan behind her. Neither of them knew where the intruding demon could be. As they hit the last stair, the echoing laugh of Freddy rebounded off the walls. Briar could tell that he was more powerful now, could feel the energy he held._

_ 'Come out you bitch!' Briar yelled. Dylan hit her on the arm._

_ 'Don't provoke him!' she quietly chastised. Briar frowned._

_ 'How else are we going to find him?' Briar countered. Dylan went quiet and let Briar deal with it. The older girl took the lead again, moving them into the livingroom. Briar's foot hit the rug and his laughter sounded again. A door slammed shut somewhere upstairs, causing both girls to turn abruptly._

_ When they turned, their surroundings were different. Red hues were prominent, blacks shadowing them. Briar cursed as it dawned on her as to where they were._

_ Laughter erupted behind them and they turned again, coming face to face with Freddy. 'Little girls shouldn't use such fowl language,' he said. Briar's eyes narrowed and she took a menacing step forward, her dress hitting the back of her heels. She felt herself loose altitude then stood a few feet away from the demon, looking up at him. She was a child again, no doubt Freddy's doing._

_ 'I was cursing like a sailor when I was ten,' Briar countered. Even though her body looked no older than thirteen, she still retained all her memories, her spunk, and most of all, her violence. Freddy's mouth curled up in a cruel smirk._

_ 'Just my type,' he cooed. He took a step closer and Briar stood her ground._

_ 'I will kill you,' Briar threatened. Dylan watched as Briar's form flickered between her adult body and her child one. She was starting to feel more like Briar. Freddy took another step and Briar opened her mouth to laugh, only the sound that came out was that of Freddy's laugh. Briar raised her right hand and Dylan could see the shadow of a claw reflected on the wall. Something was wrong. Briar made a slashing motion and Freddy went down, deep purple steam pouring out of his wounds. He shattered and fell apart, crumbling before them. Briar turned to Dylan, still in the form of a child, her ice blue eyes so cold. Dylan could that that from her friend's posture, she was hiding something._

_ 'It's okay now, Dylan. He's gone,' Briar said, a deeper voice overlaying hers._

_ 'No,' Dylan managed as she took a step back. Briar's mouth stretched into a wicked grin and she pulled her right hand from behind her back, showing a wicked set of claws, Freddy's claws. Dylan backed up and hit a wall, her eyes wide in terror. 'Briar, don't,' Dylan pleaded. Briar laughed, dark and evil._

_ 'It's so cute how you thing I'm your friend,' Briar said. Tears slipped down Dylan's face and she shook her head. Briar approached slowly, one bare foot in front of the other. She laughed again, the sound echoing in Dylan's head._

_ Then a very feminine scream sounded from above and Briar, adult in age launched over the railing and tackled her child form to the ground. Dylan, confused, looked between the two Briars. She didn't know what to do. Adult Briar pinned the younger version of herself to the floor, a mean look on her face._

_ 'You leave her alone you evil, sadistic, piece of shit,' the older version hissed. Dylan pressed herself further into the wall and sank to her knees, tears running down her face. The younger Briar laughed, the sound turning masculine. The girl's face morphed into a burned atrocity, the features of Freddy coming out._

_ Adult Briar wrapped her hands around Freddy's neck and cracked his skull against the floor. The laughter stopped, a grunting, pained noise coming from his mouth instead. Dylan watched as Briar was suddenly on her back, Freddy on top of her._

_ 'I don't die easy, bitch,' Freddy said. Briar struggled but Freddy had her pinned to the floor tightly. Dylan grew angry and pushed herself away from the wall and in the direction of the man hurting her best friend. She tackled him to the ground, freeing Briar._

All of a sudden, Dylan's eyes shot open and she stared into the face of Dean. "What happened?" he asked, concerned. Dylan shot up and shoved Dean out of the way in favor of running to Briar's room to check on her. Dylan ran into Sam as soon as she had wrenched the door open. By the look on his face, there was something wrong. He let her into the room and followed her back up to Briar's bed, where the girl lay, still comatose, however, her face was scrunched in pain and her back was arching off the bed. Something was going on in her head that was doing this to her.

_Briar was pinned against a wall, Freddy's claws at her throat. She swallowed and tried to push him away, but she could feel her strength slipping from her. She should have been scared, scared to die, scared to be wiped out from the face of the earth, or just plain scared that she didn't get to say goodbye, but she couldn't summon up the fear._

_ She felt her whole body relax. If this what how it was going to end, then she wouldn't stop it. She waited for the final blow, but it never seemed to come. When Briar opened her eyes, she saw nothing. Freddy had disappeared, had turned into a tiny, swirling purple ball of light sitting on the floor in front of her. Looking around, Briar felt like she had no choice, she picked up the orb and it started glowing brighter._

Sam pulled Dylan back, away from Briar as Dean finally joined them. All three of them were freaked out by this sudden change. The girl was floating above the bed by a good two feet and she was glowing purple. A charge of electric energy sent out a pulse wave, shoving them all back against the wall. Briar let out a shriek then fell back onto the bed, the light gone. Dean was the first one to stand and move forward to check on the woman. He could feel a pulse and she was still breathing. Dean flinched when her eyes flashed open, the color so blue it was like a frozen lake on a clear day.

"Briar? Briar? Guys, she's awake!" Dean said, turning back to the other two, who had picked themselves off the floor. Dylan and Sam rushed forward to lean over her, to check on her.

Her eyes still seemed hazy, but she let out in a quite breath, "Can I get some air before you all crowd me for a hug?"

Dylan, close to tears managed a weak smile and a laugh. She stood and backed up to the wall, taking Dean with her. Sam leaned away from her, but refused to move any further, his hand still wrapped around hers. Briar took in a deep breath and smiled at all of them.

"It's good to be awake," Briar said. She meant it, but she didn't know that it was all her that came back. She was sure that something darker was swirling deep down inside her, and she didn't know what it was. Whatever showed up, she was sure she could handle when the time came.


End file.
